Posted by Ellen on October 30, 1999 at 11:04:40:
In Reply to: Re: Assoc. between type 1 and Hib vaccine posted by MAR on October 30, 1999 at 09:00:41:
MAR, HepB and HIB are two different vaccines. You may want to use this information or contact Dr. Classen via http://vaccines.net directly. You should know that his research is often refuted by others as they state they can't replicate his findings. (Click on the link for access to the hyperlinks.)
BMJ 1999;318:193 ( 16 January )
Letters
Public should be told that vaccines may have long term adverse effects
EDITORJefferson's editorial about vaccination and its adverse effects
mentions our research.1 We found that immunisation starting at birth was
associated with a decreased risk of insulin dependent diabetes, while
immunisation starting after age 2 months was associated with an
increased risk of diabetes in both rodents and humans.2 We initiated a
collaboration with Dr Jaakko Tuomilehto to study the effect of
Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine on the incidence of diabetes.
Roughly 116 000 Finnish children were randomised to receive either four
doses of the vaccine, starting at 3 months of age, or one dose at
24 months of age.3 We calculated the incidence of insulin dependent
diabetes in both groups until age 10 and in a group that did not receive
the vaccinea cohort that included all 128 500 children born in Finland
in the 24 months before the study of the vaccine began.
A conference was held in Bethesda, Maryland, in May 1998 to discuss our
data. At the conference we stated that the data on the vaccine support
our published findings that immunisation starting after the age of
2 months is associated with an increased risk of diabetes. Our analysis
is further supported by a similar rise in diabetes after immunisation
with H influenzae type b vaccine in the United States4 and United
Kingdom.5 Furthermore, the increased risk of diabetes in the vaccinated
group exceeds the expected decreased risk of complications of H
influenzae meningitis.
Research into immunisation has been based on the theory that the
benefits of immunisation far outweigh the risks from delayed adverse
events and so long term safety studies do not need to be performed. When
looking at diabetes only one potential chronic adverse event we found that
the rise in the prevalence of diabetes may more than offset the expected
decline in long term complications of H influenzae meningitis. Thus
diabetes induced by vaccine should not be considered a rare potential
adverse event. The incidence of many other chronic immunological
diseases, including asthma, allergies, and immune mediated cancers, has
risen rapidly and may also be linked to immunisation.
We believe that the public should be fully informed that vaccines,
though effective in preventing infections, may have long term adverse
effects. An educated public will probably increasingly demand proper
safety studies before widespread immunisation. We believe that the
outcome of this decision will be the development of safer vaccine
technology.
John Barthelow Classen, President. * .
Classen Immunotherapies, 6517 Montrose Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21212, USA
Classen@vaccines.net
David C Classen, Infectious disease physician. * .
Division of Infectious Diseases, LDS Hospital, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
* The methods used in this research are covered by patents owned by
Classen Immunotherapies. John Classen holds shares in Classen
Immunotherapies; David Classen owns no shares in the company, receives
no funding from it, and has no financial ties to it or to this research.
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1.Jefferson T. Vaccination and its adverse effects: real or perceived.
BMJ 1998; 317: 159-160[Full Text]. (18 July.)2.Classen DC, Classen JB.
The timing of pediatric immunization and the risk of insulin-dependent
diabetes mellitus. Infect Dis Clin Pract 1997; 6: 449-454.3.Eskola J,
Kayhty H, Takala AK, Peltola H, Ronnberg PR, Kela E, et al. A
randomized, prospective field trial of a conjugated vaccine in the
protection of infants and young children against invasive Haemophilus
influenzae type b disease. N Engl J Med 1990; 323: 1381-1387[Medline].4.
Dokheel TM. An epidemic of childhood diabetes in the United States.
Diabetes Care 1993; 16: 1606-1611[Medline].5.Gardner S, Bingley PJ,
Sawtell PA, Weeks S, Gale EA. Rising incidence of insulin dependent
diabetes in children under 5 years in Oxford region: time trend
analysis. BMJ 1997; 315: 713-716[Abstract/Full Text].
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© British Medical Journal 1999
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This article has been cited by other articles:
•Elliman, D. (1999). Vaccination and type 1 diabetes mellitus. BMJ 318:
1159-1160 [Full text] •Karvonen, M., Cepaitis, Z., Tuomilehto, J.
(1999). Association between type 1 diabetes and Haemophilus influenzae
type b vaccination: birth cohort study. BMJ 318: 1169-1172 [Abstract]
[Full text] •Jefferson, T O, Rabinovich, R., Tuomilehto, J., Bedford,
H., Elliman, D., Classen, J. B., Classen, D. C (1999). Vaccines and
their real or perceived adverse effects. BMJ 318: 1487-1487 [Full text]
eLetter responses to this article:
Read all eLetter responses
Public should be told if vaccines have long term effects
David Elliman, Consultant in Community Child Health , St George's
Hospital, Tooting, London, SW17
eBMJ, 20 Jan 1999 [Response]
We agree that the public should be made aware of what is going on
Tom Jefferson , Cochrane Vaccines Field, Ministry of Defence
eBMJ, 25 Jan 1999 [Response]
Related letters in BMJ:
Vaccines and their real or perceived adverse effects
T O Jefferson, Regina Rabinovich, Jaako Tuomilehto, Helen Bedford, David
Elliman, John Barthelow Classen, and David C Classen
BMJ 1999 318: 1487. [Letter]