-
Nov 17, 2005 6:51 pm US/Eastern
-
Digg |
Facebook |
E-mail
|
Print
Parents Say Vaccines Cause Autism; Experts Say No
Mercury Always To Blame For Syndrome, But No Real Proof Exists
(CBS)
What causes autism? It's the $64,000 question. And it's an important one. If we knew the cause, we could prevent this devastating condition. But right now doctors say they have no idea what triggers it. But many parents think they have the answer.
"Vaccines, I think, is the main source," Catherine Labarre said of her son Pierre's autism.
"He became very ill from the vaccine," agrees Sandy Larcher, referring to her son Mathias' autism.
"I wish I hadn't vaccinated him," Jackie Ceonzo said on her son Joe's condition.
It's a common refrain from parents desperate to know why their child developed autism. Many are convinced vaccines are the culprits. Up until the last few years, most vaccines contained a preservative called thimerosal -- which contains mercury.
Catherine Labarre says, "I think he was poisoned by heavy metals."
This claim has gained new momentum thanks, in part, to the best selling book: "Evidence of Harm: Mercury in Vaccines and the Autism Epidemic." Journalist David Kirby is the author.
"There is no amount of mercury that's permissible or acceptable or won't cause damage -- neurological damage -- to a child. So, just the whole premise of thimerosal not causing autism -- just from a common sense point of view -- that just doesn't fly," Kirby said.
He also claims that vaccine makers knew the shots might not be safe.
"Eli Lilly knew it was potentially dangerous and they used it anyway. We know that from documents obtained through the discovery process," Kirby said. "It's a fact. they received warnings."
Medical experts say these claims are way off base.
Montefiore Medical Center's Dr. Elizabeth Rapin says, "There's not one shred of epidemiological evidence that measles vaccine -- or thimerisol which is a mercury -- which is a known neurotoxin -- causes autism. Not a shred."
Her colleague, Dr. Shlomo Shinnar, agrees.
"One cannot find any evidence that mercury poisoning, even in its classic form, is associated with autism," Shinnar said.
Yet he understands why parents might point their fingers at vaccines.
"No matter what happens in the second or first year of life you're within a month of an immunization," Shinnar said.
Author Kirby is careful to say the link between vaccines and autism isn't proven, but he remains suspicious.
"Doctors who tell parents that their children's autism wasn't caused by vaccines may, one day, have to take that back," Kirby said.
Thimerosal has now been removed from most vaccines. So experts, including David Kirby, say parents should not be scared to immunize their children.
The fact that thimerisol has been removed also means we should have an answer in the next three to five years. If the autism rates drop dramatically, then mercury may indeed have harmed millions of kids.
(© MMV, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)