Thimerosal®
Manufacturer:
Eli Lilly
Uses: The most common preservative that is used in vaccines and biologics that are marketed in the United States.
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| Thimerosal |
Thimerosal is used to help prevent a vaccine from spoiling, for inactivating
bacteria used to formulate several vaccines, and in preventing bacterial
contamination of the final product. Several of the vaccines recommended
routinely for children in the United States contain thimerosal. However, reports
have surfaced linking thimerosal to mercury poisoning in infants often causing
autism.
On July 7, 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued with the US
Public Health Service (USPHS) a joint statement alerting clinicians and the
public of concern about thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative used in
some vaccines. The reason for the warning is that thimerosal contains related
mercury compound called ethyl mercury. Mercury is a toxic metal that can cause
immune, sensory, neurological, motor, and behavioral dysfunctions.
The Food and Drug Administration suggested that some infants, depending on
which vaccines they receive and the timing of those vaccines, may be exposed to
levels of ethyl mercury that could build up to exceed one of the federal
guidelines established for the intake of methyl mercury. Symptoms of mercury
toxicity in young children are extremely similar to those of autism.
This can explain the recent increase in the numbers of children diagnosed
with autism since the early 1990's. The numerous amount of children diagnosed
with autism seems to directly correlate with the recommendation of both the
hepatitis B and HIB vaccine to infants in the early 1990s. Autism is a
neurological disorder that is characterized by impairments in language,
cognitive and social development.
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