The ‘Myth’ of mercury
To continue with my critique of Dr Rachael Dunlop’s blog, 9 vaccination myths busted. With science! I would like to discuss the second ‘myth’ about whether or not vaccines contain mercury. Dr Rachie has often stated that doctors are the experts when it comes to vaccination and they know more about the subject then parents. Therefore, parents should just listen to their doctors when they are advised to vaccinate their children. The assumption is that since Rachie is a doctor (though not a medical doctor), she has superior expertise on the subject of vaccination and her statements should be accepted without question. But we are talking about science and in science, nothing is above question. So when Dr Rachie says that:
“Mercury has not been present in routine childhood vaccines in Australia since 2000 and it was never in the MMR vaccine. Prior to 2000, thimerosal [thiomersal in Australia], an organomercury compound, was used in the manufacturing process of vaccines as a preservative. The process left only trace amounts in the finished product – you ingest more mercury when you eat a can of tuna than you would ever get from a vaccine.”
One would assume that, with her experience of the medical world and knowledge of medicine, she would know what she is talking about. Unfortunately however, her statement about mercury and vaccines is completely wrong. Mercury is still in vaccines administered to children and in fact, it was never removed completely. Medical ignorance One can’t necessarily blame Dr Rachie completely for making such an obvious error. After all, she has relied upon yet another ‘expert’ for her information, Dr Sue Page from the Vax’em! Website. But despite their combined expertise, knowledge and education, these health professionals have made a very basic mistake when it comes to their knowledge of vaccination - a mistake that could have been very easily avoided had they simply done some basic research first. You see, not only has mercury never been removed from all routine childhood vaccines, but some vaccines which manufacturers claim have always been free from mercury actually contain it. In a recently-published study, it was revealed that the Infanrix hexa vaccine – a 7-in-1 shot that has supposedly always been completely free of thiomersal, contains between 9 and 10 ppm.[1] To put things into context, the American Environmental Protection Agency states that water must contain no more than .002 ppm of mercury because at levesl higher than this, “has been shown to damage the kidneys of laboratory animals such as rats when the animals are exposed at high levels over their lifetimes.”[2] Yet this study of the infanrix vaccine finds mercury levels of between 9 and 10 ppm – exponentially higher quantities than those deemed unsafe in drinking water. Please note - the above information is incorrect. The article states that the amount is in parts per billion (PPB) not parts per million (PPM) so the level is mercury is below the safe limit according to government but it is still there when the manufacturer says it is not. My apologies for this error (MD) The authors state that,
“Although the levels of Hg (mercury) detected are substantially lower than any established exposure safety limits, the results of this study reveal that inaccuracies exist in public health messages, professional communications, and official documentation regarding Hg content in at least one childhood vaccine. In the interests of public health, it is incumbent on vaccine manufacturers and responsible agencies such as the Therapeutic Goods Administration and the Federal Department of Health and Ageing to address this issue as a matter of urgency.”
But what are the ‘responsible’ public health officials doing about the residual mercury in vaccines that are supposed to be mercury free? Are they out there demanding that safety comes first? Are they lobbying the federal government or the department of health to ensure that drug companies abide by labelling regulations so that health professionals and consumers can make informed decisions about what they are injecting? No, instead of behaving in a responsible manner, they are covering up the fact that childhood vaccines still contain mercury and indeed, they probably always have! It is the vaccine safety organisations like the AVN that are doing the work of trying to ensure that vaccine information is truthful and complete – no thanks to Dr Rachie and her ilk. Because remember, Dr Rachie insists that there is no mercury in vaccines on the childhood schedule – a claim that has now been proven to be completely incorrect! Dr Rachie then goes on to state that:
“Also there are two types of mercury – methyl mercury is the scary environmental toxin that “bioaccumulates” in your body, and ethyl mercury the type found in thimerosal, which does not bioaccumulate.”
Dr Rachie is correct when she says that thiomersal contains ethylmercury. But that is about the only thing she has said that is correct. The reason we are told that ethylmercury is a safe form of mercury (a true oxymoron since mercury is one of the most toxic substances known to man – no matter what form it is found in), is because it is not supposed to bioaccumulate or build up in the body. This does not appear to be the case, however. On the Activist Post’s website,[3] a recently published article describes why it is that the body may be metabolising the ethylmercury in thiomersal, changing it into both the more dangerous methylmercury as well as the incredibly toxic inorganic mercury.
“Unexpectedly, the rats treated with Thimerosal (ethylmercury) were found to have three types of mercury in the blood samples and their organs, ethylmercury (the originating “supposedly harmless” compound), methylmercury (the admittedly harmful compound) and inorganic mercury (the most harmful, tissue bound end product of mercury metabolism). This observation begs an answer to the question: Where did the “methylmercury” come from since this group was only originally and solely treated with Thimerosal (an “ethylmercury” compound)? Based on the published findings in the three groups of rats, the metabolic pathway for organic mercury involves the conversion of Ethylmercury (Thimerosal) into “methylmercury” and then the further reduction of “methylmercury” into inorganic mercury. It may be that some of the “ethylmercury” (from Thimerosal) are also directly converted into inorganic mercury. However, there are apparently no studies, in either humans or other animals, that establishes the biochemical conversion of ethylmercury compounds directly into the “inorganic” mercury.”
So Rachie is again incorrect in her assumption that ethylmercury is safe. Lastly, she states that:
“If thimerosal was implicated in autism, you would expect a significant drop in cases after its removal. Instead the opposite is true – autism rates continue to rise.”
Of course, you would only expect to see this drop if one of the following two factors were true: 1- If mercury were really removed from all vaccines as we had been told; and 2- If mercury were the only neurotoxin in vaccines. Vaccinations contain a broad range of substances which are known to be toxic to the brain. These include aluminium, 2PE (the substance which was added to vaccinations when mercury was removed) and more. Since mercury was never removed and it is but one of many neurotoxic substances in vaccines, it is not surprising that rates of autism have continued to climb. The only way to finally determine once and for all whether vaccines are or are not associated with autism is to have a study comparing the rates in the fully vaccinated as compared with the never vaccinated. This is a study that the government steadfastly refuses to do. Perhaps they are too concerned that should this study be done, they will be held to account for the tens of thousands of Australian children and adults whose autism was caused by vaccines? For more information on the evidence of risk from exposure to thiomersal, Please visit these two pages from the excellent Vaccination News Website: http://www.vaccinationnews.com/evidence-thimerosal-risk http://www.vaccinationnews.com/evidence-thimerosal-risk-page-2 In conclusion Has science (in the name of Dr Rachie) shown that mercury in childhood vaccines is a myth ?
[1] Mercury in vaccines from the Australian childhood immunization program schedule; Austin DW, Shandley KA, Palombo EA.J Toxicol Environ Health A. 2010;73(10):637-40. http://www.vaccineinjury.info/news/427-mercury-in-vaccines.html
[2] http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/drinkingwater/inorg_con.htm
[3] http://www.activistpost.com/2011/09/vaccine-establishments-safety-debate.html