WOW!!FRONT PAGE AJC: FIRST AUTISM-VACCINE LINK: HOW HANNAH MADE HIST

[Guest guest]

from Bobbie Manning:

FYI: Here's how the story played on the front page this morning.

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> http://www.newseum.org/media/dfp/pdf6/GA_AJC.pdf

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> This is a devastating article.

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> Parents will be on Larry King Live tonight.

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> http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/health/stories/2008/03/06/autism_0306.html

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> FIRST AUTISM-VACCINE LINK: HOW HANNAH MADE HISTORY

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> By ALISON YOUNG

> The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

> Published on: 03/06/08

> In a move autism family advocates call unprecedented, federal health

> officials have concluded that childhood vaccines contributed to symptoms

> of the disorder in a 9-year-old Georgia girl.

>

> While government officials continue to maintain that vaccines don't cause

> autism, advocates say the recent settlement of the girl's injury case in a

> secretive federal vaccine court shows otherwise.

>

> The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has concluded the family

> of Hannah Poling of Athens is entitled to compensation from a federal

> vaccine injury fund, according to the text of a court document in the

> case. The amount of the family's award is still being determined.

>

> The language in the document does not establish a clear-cut vaccine-autism

> link. But it does say the government concluded that vaccines aggravated a

> rare underlying metabolic condition that resulted in a brain disorder

> " with features of autism spectrum disorder. "

>

> In an interview Wednesday with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Hannah's

> parents, Jon and Terry Poling, said the government's concession in the

> case will help pay for the numerous therapists and other medical experts

> their autistic child needs - now and for the rest of her life.

>

> " At least we have some commitment from the government to take care of

> Hannah when we're gone, " said Dr. Jon Poling, a neurologist.

>

> But the case also thrusts the family into a national spotlight in the

> controversial public debate over whether vaccines have played some role in

> the growing number of U.S. children diagnosed with autism. Of particular

> concern to some families is the mercury-based preservative thimerosal, not

> used in child vaccines (except for some flu shots) since 2001.

>

> Hannah's case was one of three vaccine-court test cases alleging that

> thimerosal caused the children's autism. The other cases go to trial in

> May.

>

> Suspicion of vaccines is fueled in part by vocal advocates - including

> radio shock jock Don Imus and actress McCarthy - speaking out on

> radio and TV shows such as " Oprah " and " Larry King Live. "

>

> Even Republican presidential candidate Sen. McCain said on the

> campaign trail that " there's strong evidence " that a preservative in

> vaccines is fueling the dramatic rise in autism cases across the country.

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> As many as 1 in 150 children in some communities have autism disorders,

> says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

>

> " We need to recognize this is a national crisis, " Jon Poling said.

>

> Autism is a lifelong neurological disorder that causes problems with

> communication and the ability to have normal social interactions. Autism

> and related autism spectrum disorders cover a range of symptoms that can

> vary from mild to severe. The cause is unknown, but scientists believe

> genes may play a role.

>

> Pediatricians and public health officials worry that this case may cause

> fear among some parents and prompt them to refuse to vaccinate their

> children, and put them in real danger from measles, whooping cough and

> other diseases.

>

> " The risks of diseases are real risks, " said Dr. Melinda Wharton, deputy

> director of CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory

> Diseases. Numerous large studies don't support a relationship between

> vaccines and autism, according to the CDC and the Institutes of Medicine.

>

> The Georgia girl's case - and its implications in the vaccine-autism

> debate - raise more questions than it answers, experts say.

>

> Some medical experts say it's difficult to fully assess the case because

> the federal vaccine-court documents are sealed from public view.

>

> " It raised a lot of questions for us, " said Dr. Tayloe Jr.,

> president-elect of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The national

> medical group's leadership has been seeking more information about

> Hannah's vaccine-court case since last week when a sealed vaccine-court

> document detailing the government's settlement was posted on the Internet

> by an autism book author, then circulated widely among autism groups.

>

> The pediatrics association has been trying to get access to official

> documents in the case so medical experts can delve into the science,

> assess whether there are implications for other children and answer

> questions from doctors and families.

>

> " Our responsibility is to make sure the public is given good information

> and make sure the hype doesn't distract from public health, " Tayloe said.

> " I still would not think that we're going to have evidence showing a role

> of vaccines actually causing autism. "

>

> According to the leaked document posted online, the government's Division

> of Vaccine Injury Compensation concluded that five shots Hannah received

> in July 2000, when she was 19 months old, " significantly aggravated an

> underlying mitochondrial disorder " and resulted in a brain disorder " with

> features of autism spectrum disorder. "

>

> Sallie Bernard, executive director of the national autism advocacy group

> SafeMinds, called the case " unprecedented " in that a link between vaccines

> and autism is being made public. Federal health officials " have insisted

> there is no link at all between vaccines and vaccine components and

> autism. And apparently that is not true, " she said.

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> The case also is significant because other autistic children have

> mitochondrial disorders, Bernard said. " The question is: What is the

> proportion? "

>

> Krakow, a New York attorney representing other autistic children in

> vaccine court, said the significance of the case is " potentially

> explosive. " He said he has several clients with similar histories.

>

> Hannah requires one-on-one care at all times, said her mother, Terry

> Poling, a nurse and lawyer. The Polings described how Hannah was a normal,

> verbal toddler until she received several vaccines during a well-baby

> visit. Within 48 hours of the shots, she developed a high fever and

> inconsolable crying and refused to walk. She stopped sleeping through the

> night. At 3 months of age, she began showing signs of autism, including

> spinning and staring at lights and fans. For a while, she lost her ability

> to speak.

>

> When Hannah was 6 months old, as the family came to grips with the

> likelihood that she was autistic, they turned to leading experts in

> neurology. " I had to know. My daughter didn't just suddenly develop autism

> for no reason, " Terry Poling said.

>

> Hannah's father co-authored an article about her case, which was published

> in the Journal of Child Neurology in 2006.

>

> Hannah, who has two older brothers, continues to have mild to moderate

> symptoms of autism. The family says early and ongoing intensive therapy

> has been critical for her.

>

> " The biggest question right now for the public is: How unique is Hannah's

> case? " said Jon Poling. Poling said he suspects there are other children

> like Hannah.

>

> Cliff Shoemaker, the Polings' attorney, said the family has filed a

> petition with the vaccine court to unseal all of Hannah's records and

> allow both the family and the government to fully discuss the case.

>

> Despite this, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice, which

> reprersents the government in court cases, would not grant interviews or

> explain to the AJC why it isn't releasing the records. HHS officials, who

> administer the vaccine compensation fund, also declined to be interviewed,

> citing the court's confidentiality requirements.

>

> Shoemaker said the government's November concession in the case is public,

> but the government's reasons aren't. " I'm not aware of any other conceded

> autism cases, " he said.

>

> Congress created the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program in 1988

> after widespread lawsuits against manufacturers and health-care providers

> stemming from reports of side-effects of a version of the

> diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine used in the 1980s.

>

> With companies getting out of the vaccine business for liability reasons,

> Congress established the program and a trust fund to serve as a no-fault

> alternative for resolving certain vaccine injury claims.

>

> The average injury compensation to an individual in vaccine court has been

> about $1 million. In fiscal year 2007, more than $91 million was awarded

> to people harmed by vaccines.

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