Teenage girl left brain-damaged after receiving cervical cancer jab

Teenage girl left brain-damaged after receiving cervical cancer jab
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:44 AM on 05th October 2009
Comments (55) Add to My Stories A teenage girl has been left brain-damaged after suffering epileptic seizures just days after being given the controversial cervical cancer jab.
Stacey Jones, 18, suffered her first seizure in March when she was 17, days after she had the Cervarix injection.
In the following weeks she had several more fits, causing such severe brain injury that she had to be admitted to a rehabilitation unit, where she is relearning simple tasks.
Stacey Jones (centre) pictured with her cousins at her 18th birthday party started to suffer epileptic seizures just days after having the cancer jab
According to the Sunday Telegraph, the parents of the teenager, from Bilston in the West Midlands, are convinced that the vaccination caused swelling in the brain.
The swelling has been diagnosed as the cause of Stacey's neurological problems.
Mother, Julie Jones, 44, told the newspaper: 'She was such a lovely, happy-go-lucky girl, now she is just a shell.
'I really feel she has been used as a guinea pig.

'I don't think there is enough evidence that the vaccination programme is safe - this all happened days after Stacey was given the vaccine, and we don't have any other explanation for what triggered her brain injury.'
Amid growing concern among parents about the safety of the jab, drug manufacturers insist that there is no evidence to suggest that the vaccine carries any long-term side effects.
The post-mortem on 14-year-old schoolgirl Natalie Morton who died hours after having the jab found that the girl had died from a malignant tumour on her chest
This would suggest that the timing of Stacey's seizures is mere coincidence rather than being linked to the vaccine.
The post-mortem on 14-year-old Coventry schoolgirl Natalie Morton who died hours after having the jab found this week that the girl had died from a malignant tumour on her chest.
However, a leading expert who helped develop the cancer jab today told the Sunday Express that the vaccine may be riskier and more deadly than the cancer it aims to prevent.
The doctor also claimed the jab would do nothing to lower the rates of cervical cancer in the UK.

Dr Diane Harper, who was involved in the clinical trials of Cervarix said the vaccine was being 'over-marketed' and parents should be warned about possible side effects.
Dr Harper, of the University of Missouri-Kansas told the newspaper she believed the risks were 'small but real'.
She said: 'All this jab will do is prevent girls getting some abnormalities associated with cervical cancer which can be treated.
'It will not decrease cervical cancer rates at all.
'Parents need to know this and that in a small number of cases there are serious side effects.'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1218030/Teenage-girl-left-brain-damaged-receiving-cervical-cancer-jab.html#ixzz0T5l0E1Mv

GARDASIL

Monday, September 28, 2009
WHY?? - Cervical cancer vaccinations for all girls
Posted by: jyuen
Three days ago it was announced that all 12 to 13 year old girls will be given the Human Papillomavirus Vaccine starting from next year (see attached news article or http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/9/25/nation/20090925121015&sec=nation).There are several areas of concern here that we the consumers and more importantly, the parents of these and future 12-13 year old girls need to consider.Firstly, is how safe is it? According to the related stories of the above Star news report, Cervical cancer vaccine: Who needs it, how it works (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cervical-cancer-vaccine/WO00120) which links you to the Mayo Clinic's website on the HPV vaccine which states that it is "to be remarkably safe...The most common complaint is soreness at the injection site, the upper arm. Low-grade fever or flu-like symptoms also are common. Sometimes dizziness or fainting occurs after the injection, especially in adolescents. Overall, the effects are usually mild." The concern here is that, with "mild" side effects like "flu-like symptoms" could lead to other drugs being given like for AH1N1 since most doctors now have been instructed to lean more to the over cautious side due to the current AH1N1 situation.Also, in the same section, it has stated that "some serious side effects have been reported, including a severe allergic response (anaphylaxis); neurological conditions, such as paralysis, weakness and brain swelling; and death." Although the site does try to justify it with the statement that "To date, almost all reports of such adverse side effects appear to have occurred around the time of vaccination by chance. They don't appear to be caused by the vaccination itself." Perhaps we should ask how many more people must be paralyzed or die till it does appear to be caused by the vaccination itself?While cervical cancer is indeed a major disease that we need to be concerned about, could it be a matter of putting our children more in harm's way with this HPV vaccine? I strongly suggest that you read this article Vaccine Safety Group Releases GARDASIL Reaction Report (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/63586.php) posted on an online medical news website. Why Gardasil? Because it may be the HPV vaccine of choice for this in school vaccination program.This article mentioned "Out of the 385 individual GARDASIL adverse event reports made to VAERS (the US Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System), two-thirds required additional medical care and about one-third of all reports were for children 16-years-old and under, with nearly 25 percent of those children having received simultaneously one or more of the 18 vaccines that Merck did not study in combination with GARDASIL. NVIC is calling on the FDA and CDC to warn parents and doctors that GARDASIL should not be combined with other vaccines and that young girls should be monitored for at least 24 hours for syncopal (collapse/fainting) episodes that can be accompanied by seizure activity, as well as symptoms of tingling, numbness and loss of sensation in the fingers and limbs". The article also mentioned that ""There are twice as many children collapsing and four times as many children experiencing tingling, numbness and loss of sensation after getting a GARDASIL vaccination compared to those getting a Tdap (tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis) vaccination. There have been reports of facial paralysis and Guillain-Barre Syndrome" And the most amazing part of the health warning by the NVIC (the US National Vaccine Information Center) is "To avoid unnecessary injuries, teenage girls should be vaccinated laying down, not be left unattended and probably should not walk or drive themselves home from the doctor's office after they get vaccinated." And If that doesn't make one stop to think about how safe this HPV vaccine is, I don't know what will.The next question we should ask is how effective is the HPV vaccine? According to the Mayo Clinic website, "Yes. In clinical trials, the vaccine was effective in a group of sexually active women age 26 or younger, some of whom had already been infected with one or more types of HPV. There's a caveat, however. The cervical cancer vaccine blocks HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18, but only if you haven't been exposed to those particular types of HPV." What if you already are? And from the Medical News Today website article, "NVIC also found that there were several VAERS reports of HPV infection, genital warts and cervical lesions after GARDASIL vaccination. It is unknown if the girls were infected with HPV before being vaccinated or if GARDASIL failed to protect them. One case of HPV infection occurred in a 22-year-old girl who had participated in a Merck GARDASIL trial in 2003 when she had shown "strong conversion to all 4 vaccine types" but "tested positive for high risk HPV" in 2006, according to the VAERS report." and "The FDA staff also questioned whether the "HPV types not contained in the vaccine might offset the overall clinical effectiveness of the vaccine." There are more than 15 types of HPV associated with cervical cancer but GARDASIL only contains HPV types 16 and 18."Two to four strains out of 15 that can cause cervical cancer as well as a possible ineffectiveness of the vaccine itself? Think about it.The third area of concern is do 12-13 year old girls fall into the high risk group for contracting cervical cancer?To answer this, let's look at how .Mayo Clinic - "Various strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), which spreads through sexual contact, are responsible for most cases of cervical cancer." and "HPV spreads through sexual contact. To protect yourself from HPV, use a condom every time you have sex. It's also important to limit your number of sexual partners. Not smoking helps, too. Smoking doubles the risk of cervical cancer." And also "The more sexual partners you've had, the greater your chance of having been exposed to multiple types of HPV — including HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18."Medical News Today - see what category this article is classified under "Sexual health / STD" From Wikipedia (and you can refer to their reference articles too) - "Although possible, transmission by routes other than sexual intercourse is less common for female genital HPV infection"One question we should ask - how sexually active are 12 to 13 year old girls? Would not better moral and religious education as well as parental guidance on avoiding pre marital sex or at least on safe sex be more effective in preventing HPV from spreading?The final word on this HPV vaccine is best stated in the last two paragraphs of the Medical News Today - "VAERS is a passive surveillance system and depends upon voluntary reporting of serious health problems following vaccination, even though safety provisions in the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 mandated that health care providers report vaccine adverse events. There have been estimates that fewer than 10 percent, even as low as 1 to 4 percent, of adverse events which occur after prescription drug or vaccine use are ever reported to government adverse event reporting systems."If only 1 to 4 percent of all adverse events associated with GARDASIL vaccination are being reported to VAERS, there could have been up to 38,000 health problems after GARDASIL vaccination in 2006 which were never reported," said NVIC President Barbara Loe Fisher. "How many girls are really having short-term health problems associated with getting this vaccine that could turn into long-term neurological or immune system disorders? And how many will go on to develop fertility problems, cancer or damage to their genes, all of which Merck admits in its product insert that it has not studied at all? We just don't know enough to be mandating GARDASIL for anyone, much less vulnerable 11 to 12 year old girls entering puberty."

Study on Vaccine (Gardasil) for Cervical Cancer Finds Benefits Despite Some Risks

Study on Vaccine for Cervical Cancer Finds Benefits Despite Some Risks

By RONI CARYN RABIN
Published: August 18, 2009
The new vaccine designed to protect girls and young women from cervical cancer has a safety record that appears to be in line with that of other vaccines, a government report has found. Some serious complications occurred, including at least 20 deaths and two cases of Lou Gehrig’s disease, but they were not necessarily caused by the vaccine, the study said.

Home › News › Local News
Chronically ill girl eyes vaccine
Despite reports, maker, agencies defend Gardasil
By Judi Villa, Rocky Mountain News
Published February 2, 2009 at 12:05 a.m.
Text size 10 Comments Email Print

Photo by Linda McConnell / Special To The Rocky

Ashley Ryburn, 16, sits with her mother, Lisa Holtman, at their home in Arvada. Until a year ago, Ashley was an active, healthy teenager. Since receiving the Gardasil vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, however, Ashley has suffered seizures, headaches, nausea, dizziness and paralysis.
More Local NewsJobless in Colorado: Staying afloat during hard economic times GOP blasts Ritter over "junket" Dry spell triggers fire warning; snow possible by Sunday More stories » Suddenly, Ashley Ryburn was sick all the time, and her mother didn't understand why.

Ashley, 16, played four sports, danced in her high school's show choir and earned top grades without even trying.

But now, Ashley was exhausted all the time. She was nauseated. She passed out at show choir and blacked out at school.

And then one day Ashley's legs went numb. She couldn't walk.

"You see somebody touch your legs and you can't feel it," Ashley recalled. "That's the scariest thing in the world."

For a year this has gone on: four episodes of temporary paralysis. Back spasms so painful Ashley would tell her mom "bye" and stop breathing. Hospitalizations. More 911 calls than Ashley can count. Trip after trip to doctors who couldn't seem to find anything wrong.

"I've heard so many times I'm crazy, I'm bulimic, I'm on drugs," Ashley said. "It's not your first thought that it's a vaccine."

A vaccine? Lisa Holtman is convinced that's what turned her perfectly healthy daughter into a chronically ill teenager.

In August and October 2007, Ashley was given doses of Gardasil, a vaccine recommended for adolescent girls to prevent cervical cancer. Her first Gardasil shot was given in conjunction with a meningitis vaccine.

The combination is said to be safe - and is commonly administered - but Gardasil was never clinically tested with the meningitis vaccine.

Research from the National Vaccine Information Center indicates reactions to Gardasil increase when it is given with the meningitis shot. But Neal Halsey, director of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, said general guidelines allow for two or three inactivated vaccines, such as the HPV and meningitis vaccines, to be given at the same time without expecting increased rates of adverse reactions.

The meningitis vaccine was not available when Gardasil began clinical testing, so the Food and Drug Administration agreed to test it post-licensure, Halsey said.

Results of those tests are expected to be released soon.

"There is no reason that I know of that there may be an increased risk of any serious complications associated with the simultaneous administration of these two inactive or killed vaccines," Halsey said in a recent interview.

Ashley didn't receive any other shots with her second dose of Gardasil. It was a month or so after the second Gardasil vaccine that she started getting sick.

"She didn't go to the doctor at all, then after she got the shots, it's boom, boom, boom," Holtman said. "We haven't stopped."

Across the country, there are reports of girls like Ashley becoming chronically ill, and even dying, after being vaccinated with Gardasil - raising questions about whether the vaccine is indeed safe and if there has been enough testing done on its side effects.

Gardasil, manufactured by Merck and Co., was licensed in 2006 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Merck both say the vaccination is safe. So does Dr. Judith Shlay, director of the immunization and travel clinic at Denver Health Medical Center.

Shlay says Denver Health administers thousands of vaccines each year, including Gardasil, and rarely has any problems. The biggest issue with Gardasil was reports of adolescent girls fainting, but Shlay said Denver Health devised a protocol that involved monitoring teens before they left and that has alleviated the concern.

"It's considered a very safe vaccine," Shlay said. "We haven't seen people get sick from it."

As of Aug. 31, the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) had logged 10,326 reports of reactions to Gardasil, according to the CDC. Of those reports, 94 percent were considered to be "nonserious."

The serious reports included Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare disorder that causes muscle weakness, blood clots and death. Each incident was "carefully analyzed by medical experts," the CDC said in a report last updated in October.

"Experts have not found a common medical pattern to the reports of serious adverse events reported for Gardasil that would suggest that they were caused by the vaccine," the CDC said.

'No safety issue'

Merck issued its own statement in July, saying it was "proud of the public health benefit that Gardasil can provide in helping to prevent cervical cancer" and maintaining that "no safety issue related to the vaccine has been identified."

Still, in 2007 and 2008, Gardasil accounted for about 20 percent of reactions reported to VAERS, said Barbara Loe Fisher, co- founder and president of the National Vaccine Information Center, a watchdog group in Virginia.

Fisher calls the percentage "unusual" given that Gardasil is new and isn't mandated.

"This is a whitewash of this vaccine. To say that almost 10,000 reports of reactions, injuries, 30 deaths is all a coincidence is simply not scientifically responsible," Fisher said. "You have perfectly healthy girls go in and get this shot and then suffer a pattern, a very clear pattern of injury, and some of them are dying. This is not acceptable."

The side effects all look a lot like what's been happening to Ashley, Fisher said: brain inflammation, immune system dysfunction, tingling and numbness in the hands, feet and legs, severe headaches, strokes, joint pain, muscle weakness, seizures and memory loss.

"Usually, these girls are very high functioning," Fisher said. "They're honor roll students. They're athletes. They're usually in extremely good health before they have a severe downward turn after receiving one or more Gardasil vaccinations."

But Halsey, of the Institute for Vaccine Safety, said people need to be "very careful not to jump on the bandwagon" that vaccines caused illness. Such allegations have surfaced before only to be disproved in resulting studies.

Serious allergic reactions to the HPV vaccine are rare, about one in a million, putting them in "the same ballpark" as any other vaccine, Halsey said.

"The evidence does not support a causal relationship," he said. "It's much more likely to be coincidental."

Can't go back

Still, Ashley's life looks nothing like it did before Gardasil. Her days consist mostly of going to school, coming home and sleeping. Her hair falls out in clumps. Her nausea is ever present. Her blood pressure drops dangerously low. She can't breathe.

Ashley looks back on pictures of summer camp just before she received the first Gardasil shot. She is saddling horses, hoisting a counselor for fun and leg wrestling.

"It hurts to know that if I went back to that day in my health now, I couldn't do it," Ashley said. "I can't do those things anymore."

Ashley received her vaccinations in Iowa before she and her mother moved to Arvada. It was recommended during a routine physical. Since then, Ashley has had to quit sports and her grades have slipped from A's and B's to B's and C's. Most of the time, she can't remember what she's read from one day to the next.

When she tried out for basketball at her high school this year, her legs were shaking and she couldn't breathe after two drills. Ashley cried.

She takes a handful of pills every day and has to carry a special bag of medical supplies in case she has an "episode."

Even when Ashley has good days, she knows the twitches in her back and the funny feeling in the back of her head will always come back, signaling another episode. Her blood pressure will plummet. She will hear her mother or her boyfriend talking to her, but she won't be able to answer. She will have trouble breathing and she will pass out.

"If I had never got the shot, I would be a normal teenager," Ashley said. "I wish I could go back."


Genital human papillomavirus (HPV)

* Most common sexually transmitted virus in the United States

* At least half of sexually active people will have it at some point in their lives, accodring to CDC estimates. There often are no symptoms, and it usually goes away on its own without causing any serious health problems.

IMMUNIZATION

* Three shots over six months

* It protects against four strains of HPV, which are responsible for 70 percent of cervical cancers and 90 percent of genital warts. It is recommended for girls as young as 9.

* Several states, including Colorado, have introduced legislation mandating the vaccine for girls entering the sixth grade. Only Washington, D.C., and Virginia have passed the mandates, to take effect in 2009 and 2010, respectively.

* Colorado has had no reports of serious reactions to the vaccine, according to Joni Reynolds, immunization program director for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

* The Institute of Medicine is about to convene a two-year study of injuries and deaths related to four vaccines, including HPV.

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News

Rat Poison Chemical Found in Ingredient List For HPV Vaccine

Rat Poison Chemical Found in Ingredient List For HPV Vaccine
Thursday, November 20, 2008 by: Joanne Waldron (see all articles by this author)

Key concepts: HPV, Sodium and Health



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Articles Related to This Article:
• U.S. Government Mandates HPV Vaccine For New US Residents

• U.S. Government Mandates HPV Vaccine for New U.S. Residents

• HPV Vaccine Hoax Exposed: FDA Documents Reveal HPV "Not Associated with Cervical Cancer"



(NaturalNews) What do rat poison and the HPV vaccine have in common? The answer is a hazardous chemical known as sodium borate. Savvy readers may wonder what a toxin that is commonly used to kill rats is doing in the ingredient list for the HPV vaccine that is currently being pushed on girls as young as nine and is even being considered for men and boys. Unfortunately, the answer isn't very comforting, especially for new U.S. residents for whom the HPV injection containing sodium borate is now mandated.

What is Sodium Borate?

Sodium borate, a boric acid salt also known as borax, has many common uses. In addition to its use as a rat poison, it is also used in laundry detergents, cosmetics, enamel glazes, flame retardants, and buffer solutions in chemistry. However, sodium borate also has antifungal properties, which means that its probable reason for being in the vaccine is to act as a preservative.

Sodium Borate Banned as Food Additive

Sodium borate is used as a food additive in some countries, but it is now outlawed in many places. For example, one Australian government recall site notes: "Product is Borax (sodium borate) which is a non permitted food additive and is harmful to health." So, if it's "harmful to health," why is it being added to the HPV vaccine?

No Longer Used in Medical Preparations

The U.S. National Library of Medicine states in an article that boric acid is "no longer commonly used in medical preparations." It's a good thing, too, considering that the U.S. National Library of Medicine also reports that this substance used to be used to disinfect and treat wounds and that individuals "who received such treatment over and over again got sick, and some died." In fact, the U.S. National Library of Medicine provides the number for Poison Control for people exposed to this chemical and notes that treatment for those exposed to it may include gastric lavage (stomach pumping), dialysis, and liquids by mouth or IV.

Sodium Borate Poisoning Symptoms Mimic Reactions to HPV Vaccine

Sadly, the information about sodium borate gets even scarier. Another government website article states that exposure to sodium borate can cause convulsions and other ill health effects. Interestingly enough, young girls who receive the HPV vaccine have reported similar symptoms to those that appear in cases of sodium borate poisoning. This particular government site provides the following warning regarding this chemical: "WARNING! HARMFUL IF SWALLOWED, INHALED OR ABSORBED THROUGH SKIN. CAUSES IRRITATION TO SKIN, EYES AND RESPIRATORY TRACT." Given this information, is sodium borate really something that should be injected into humans? This is something the reader should carefully consider, along with the previously reported information, before choosing to receive the controversial HPV vaccine.

Unknown Side Effects of Gardasil Cervarix

Sunday, 2nd November 2008



UK regulators and leading medics insist Cervarix is safe

Published Date: 02 November 2008
By Siobhan McFadyen and Kate Foster
MASS vaccination of Scottish schoolgirls against cervical cancer should have been delayed because not enough is known about possible side effects, a leading researcher claimed last night.
Dr Diane Harper, one of the world's leading experts in the field, said safety trials of the Cervarix vaccine should have been conducted for at least four more years before the decision was taken to give the jabs to thousands of girls in schools.

Harper concedes that Cervarix is effective against the HPV virus that causes many cases of cervical cancer and admits there is no evidence so far of any serious side effects. Manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline says rigorous tests have been conducted over six years.

But Harper believes the safety tests for side effects should have been conducted for at least a decade and doses given to millions of individuals around the world before any mass vaccination began. She described the cervical cancer vaccination scheme in Scotland as an "experiment".

Last night, UK regulators and leading medics insisted Cervarix was safe and that it could save hundreds of lives by preventing many cases of cervical cancer.

Two months ago the Scottish Government launched its £64m Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination programme in schools, aimed at vaccinating around 30,000 girls aged 12-13 every year. Around the country thousands of girls are currently being vaccinated every week.

The vaccine was approved by the European Medicines Agency in September 2007.

Harper, director of the Gynecologic Cancer Prevention Research Group at Dartmouth Medical Centre in the US, was herself paid by Glaxo to help conduct safety trials. She told Scotland on Sunday: "We can't tell you it's 100% safe because we don't know that. I think we would have been better waiting.

"In five years it will be pretty clear how safe it is because 70% of adverse events occur within five years and almost all of them, 97%, within 10 years. That way you have a good sense of comfort and you can reassure your population."

Harper said she would encourage women to use the vaccine, but on a voluntary basis. Under the Scottish programme, girls are receiving the vaccine unless they decide not to. She said: "I think there's a lot of room for discussion about making it voluntary so that girls are not put under pressure to get it."

A total of 344 cases of suspected adverse reactions among girls receiving Cervarix have so far been reported to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. The most common include pain and rashes, dizziness, headaches and vomiting.

Cervarix is currently undergoing evaluation by the US Food and Drug Administration and is expected to be approved next year. A spokeswoman for GlaxoSmithKline said: "Cervarix had to undergo rigorous testing with large numbers of people in numerous clinical studies. In clinical studies, Cervarix was found to be generally well tolerated."

A Department of Health spokesman said: "Both HPV vaccines have gone through very thorough testing as part of the licensing process. In properly conducted long-term safety studies, where HPV vaccines have been compared with a placebo, there were no differences in reported serious adverse events between the two groups.

"In the absence of any scientific evidence that points to safety concerns, it would be irresponsible to raise inappropriate fears over HPV vaccine safety."

Dr Stuart Scott, deputy chairman of the British Medical Association's Scottish GP Committee, said: "This cancer kills a number of women every year and, although there are no large population studies, it has been used for a number of years."

'Seize the opportunity to get protected'

HAZEL NUNN, health information manager for Cancer Research UK, writes: The introduction of the cervical cancer vaccine for teenage girls in Scotland began this September. It's an exciting step in the fight against a disease which still affects nearly 300 Scots women each year.

Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers in women under 35. But from now, all girls aged 12 and 13 will be offered the vaccine. Over the next few years this will be extended to include women and girls up to the age of 18. And research suggests that the vaccine will prevent 70% of cervical cancers.

Earlier research has shown that cervical cancer is linked to some strains of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). The vaccine has been developed to give protection against two of these strains of HPV. It's exciting that research into the basic causes of cervical cancer has led to a new way of preventing the disease, and that it's now freely available to girls in Scotland.

It's vital to remember that the vaccine will not completely wipe out cervical cancer because it does not protect against every type of HPV. Now and for the foreseeable future, it is vital that women go for cervical screening (the smear test) when they're invited. In Scotland, cervical screening is available every three years for women aged 20 to 60.

"Screening can prevent cervical cancer by detecting unusual changes in the cervix before cancer develops, and it saves around 5,000 lives in the UK each year. Our message is to take up the opportunity to get vaccinated."

The full article contains 866 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.Page 1 of 1

Last Updated: 01 November 2008 10:34 PM
Source: Scotland On Sunday
Location: Scotland
Related Topics: Cervical cancer
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