Evidence of Harm: Mercury in Vaccines and the Autism Epidemic: A Medical Controversy

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. The first serious journalistic account of a highly controversial topic, Kirby's book addresses the front-page question: has a mercury-containing preservative called thimerosal, commonly used in children's vaccines, caused a national epidemic of juvenile autism? Following the development of the debate through the eyes of a handful of impassioned parents who formed the political action group, Safe Minds, Kirby, an experienced writer for the New York Times, crafts an engrossing David and Goliath story from this controversy, one in which the giant is an amalgamation of big government bureaucrats and corporate pharmaceutical lobbyists. Whether the association between thimerosal and autism is real remains to be seen, as Kirby points out. The evidence, presented here in excruciating detail but clouded by the parents' editorializing, is inconclusive but suggestive. Readers inclined to believe the parents' case will be convinced that there has been a big conspiracy; readers inclined to be skeptical will likely view the parents as self-serving proselytizers who spin each piece of evidence to suit their forgone conclusions. Walking the middle line, Kirby acknowledges that "each side accuses the other of being irrational, overzealous, blind to evidence they find inconvenient, and subject to professional, financial, or emotional conflicts of interest that cloud their judgment." And though Kirby clearly sympathizes with the parents' tragic experience of autism in their families and their inherent desire for justice, and though he occasionally demonstrates a lack of understanding about the politics of scientific publication and the wording of scientific articles, his book remains one of the most thoroughly researched accounts of the thimerosal controversy thus far. This is the book for medical professionals and concerned parents to read. It's accessible in its handling of medical topics and compelling in its recounting of the parents' fight to advance their agenda in the face of both political and scientific roadblocks. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


Review
"Read this book! Could thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative used in pediatric vaccines, be the cause of the world-wide epidemic of autism? David Kirby's superb, even-handed account of the investigation into this ongoing, high-stakes controversy is fascinating and compelling. The poignant personal accounts of the families of autistic children are heart-wrenching. A thoroughly researched, well written, and important book."
- Bernard Rimland, director of the Autism Research Institute and founder of the Autism Society of America



Book Description
In the 1990s reported autism cases among American children began spiking, from about 1 in 10,000 in 1987 to a shocking 1 in 166 today. This trend coincided with the addition of several new shots to the nation's already crowded vaccination schedule, grouped together and given soon after birth or in the early months of infancy. Most of these shots contained a little-known preservative called thimerosal, which includes a quantity of the toxin mercury.

Evidence of Harm explores the heated controversy over what many parents, physicians, public officials, and educators have called an "epidemic" of afflicted children. Following several families, David Kirby traces their struggle to understand how and why their once-healthy kids rapidly descended into silence or disturbed behavior, often accompanied by severe physical illness. Alarmed by the levels of mercury in the vaccine schedule, these families sought answers from their doctors, from science, from pharmaceutical companies that manufacture vaccines, and finally from the Center for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration-to no avail. But as they dug deeper, the families also found powerful allies in Congress and in the small community of physicians and researchers who believe that the rise of autism and other disorders is linked to toxic levels of mercury that accumulate in the systems of some children.

An important and troubling book, Evidence of Harm reveals both the public and unsung obstacles faced by desperate families who have been opposed by the combined power of the federal government, health agencies, and pharmaceutical giants. From closed meetings of the FDA, CDC, and drug companies, to the mysterious rider inserted into the 2002 Homeland Security Bill that would bar thimerosal litigation, to open hearings held by Congress, this book shows a medical establishment determined to deny "evidence of harm" that might be connected with thimerosal and mercury in vaccines. In the end, as research is beginning to demonstrate, the questions raised by these families have significant implications for all children, and for those entrusted to oversee our national health.



About the Author
David Kirby has been a contributor to The New York Times for eight years, where he writes articles about science and health, among other subjects. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.



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A sympathetic account of parents battling the government the and pharmaceutical industry because they're convinced a form of mercury used in vaccines is the principal cause of their children's autism. Kirby, a science contributor to the New York Times, acknowledges that while there is no proof that mercury in vaccines causes autism, neither is there any proof of its safety. Parents of children, mostly boys, who developed autism after being inoculated with vaccines containing the mercury-based preservative thimerosal have been gathering data that they believe demonstrates a link between the increase in thimerosal-containing vaccination and the increase in U.S. rates of autism-from 1 in 5,000 in the 1980s to 1 in 166 today. One side calls this an epidemic; the other claims it's the result of better diagnosis and reporting. Kirby creates warm portraits of parents trying desperately to find treatments for their damaged children while, at the same time, carrying on a war with both big government and big business. With a wealth of detail, he shows the activists waging battle on four fronts: in the scientific literature and at science meetings, in the courts, in Congress and with powerful government health agencies-the Centers of Disease Control and the FDA. Although he presents evidence for both sides, the parents, who willingly talked to him, appear in a more favorable light than the bureaucrats, who did not grant him interviews. Kirby points out that while the government agencies and the drug companies reject the activists' theory that mercury causes autism, its use in pediatric vaccines, except flu shots, is rapidly being phased out in the United States. Further, he notes that an unfortunateresult of this affair is the refusal of some parents to allow their children to receive any vaccinations against serious diseases. With knocks to bureaucrats and kudos to parents, Kirby does a good job of explaining the scientific issues in an unresolved controversy.


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