Swine Flu Vaccine, Genetics and Narcolepsy in Finland
From The Boston Herald via AP. Narcolepsy is a serious, life changing condition see HERE.
GENEVA — Genetic factors may have contributed to a spike in narcolepsy cases observed among children in Finland who received the swine flu vaccine Pandemrix, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.
A WHO expert panel says of 22 narcolepsy patients tested, all had a gene commonly associated with narcolepsy, a disorder that causes people to suddenly fall asleep but is rarely fatal.
About 30 percent of people in Finland have that particular gene, compared with 15 percent in the rest of Europe, said Patrick Zuber, WHO’s top vaccine safety official.
Last week, Finnish authorities said they had found a nine-fold increased risk of narcolepsy among 4- to 19-year-olds who were given the swine flu shots. In total, 60 children and adolescents contracted narcolepsy in Finland in 2009 and 2010. Fifty-two of them — or almost 90 percent — had received the Pandemrix vaccine.
Lesser increases were also observed in Sweden and Iceland, WHO said.
WHO’s Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety said in a statement Tuesday that it agreed with Finnish authorities that there was a "strong association" between the vaccination, the genetic makeup of the patients, and the narcolepsy cases.
But since a coincidental correlation cannot be ruled out, and as narcolepsy after swine flu vaccination has been reported in only a few countries so far, the panel recommended that Pandemrix continue to be administered to children.
To date, at least 12 countries have informed Pandemrix’s British manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline PLC of narcolepsy cases following vaccination.
WHO declined to say which other countries apart from Sweden, Finland and Iceland, had reported cases, citing rules requiring the global body to be formally notified by its member state’s governments before publicly naming affected nations.
But it said the three countries identified had "notably higher" instances than the other nine.
A spokesman for GlaxoSmithKline was unable immediately to provide the information.
So, if 30% of Finland's population has this gene - it really is not the fault of the vaccine manufacturers that they are causing this gene to express itself. Really?
Posted by: Benedetta | February 12, 2011 at 10:09 AM
Just imagine all the healthcare workers...nurses, surgeons..."falling asleep" during a procedure?
That might just be (pardon the pun) a real wake up call.
Posted by: Judy | February 12, 2011 at 01:00 AM
Kristina - there is some confusion as to the difference between ASO3 and ASO4. See the link below from Dr Meryl Nass which clarifies the difference between them.
http://anthraxvaccine.blogspot.com/2009/10/aso3-and-aso4-adjuvants-my-error.html
Posted by: patrons99 | February 11, 2011 at 08:44 AM
With the new "pharma-friendly" definition of "pandemic" already in place, should we be concerned that the next "H1N1 flu pandemic" will be used as an excuse by Napolitano and Sebelius to forcibly inoculate us all with "pandemic" flu jabs? How many new "narcoleptics" would be permanently created? Imagine a newly diagnosed case of narcolepsy occuring behind the wheel of an 18-wheeler.
Posted by: patrons99 | February 10, 2011 at 08:13 PM
>My first thought is that they are now putting their spin on vaccine-induced seizures and fainting ..
>They are doing whatever it takes to make it sound less dangerous, less frightening
And narcolepsy sounds "less frightening"? At least fainting and seizures (possibly) only happen once. Narcolepsy as far as we know is permanent. It's interesting that narcolepsy seems to be linked somehow to the orexin and opioid systems - narcoleptics often don't have the "normal" reactions to the narcotics used to try to keep them awake. It was neurons in the opioid system that were adversely affected by mercury, right? Now that was in developing brains as I recall, and this presumably is not.. But what about pregnant women who got the swine flu vaccine?
Posted by: Jim Witte | February 10, 2011 at 07:11 PM
I take that back about oil-based adjuvants not being approved yet in the U.S.
Cervarix, an HPV vaccine, contains the adjuvant AS04.
Posted by: Kristina | February 10, 2011 at 05:43 PM
I just did a little research on the ingredients in Pandremix and it contain squalene, which has many commercial names depending on the vaccine manufacturer. It is used as an adjuvant to boost the immune system. It has not been approved in the US by the FDA though it has been connected to the Gulf War Syndrome as it might have been present in the anthrax vaccine (an experiment without informed consent?!). I would be highly dubious of any new vaccine that uses adjuvants because there is a well documented connection between adjuvants as triggers for autoimmunity.
Posted by: EV | February 10, 2011 at 05:09 PM
The Pandemrix vaccine contains squalene and thimerosal. Squalene and other oil-based adjuvants haven't been approved for use in U.S. vaccines, but it's only a matter of time.
Posted by: Kristina | February 10, 2011 at 01:58 PM
I think we have a lead here. Autism has also been linked to autoimmunity. We now have a clear case where vaccinated kids have a much higher (~9X) rate of an autoimmune disease, narcolepsy, than unvaccinated kids. The Finns also have very high rates of type 1 diabetes, another autoimmune condition, which is also on the rise in the US. This might lead to a break, I hope.
Posted by: EV | February 10, 2011 at 01:11 PM
Meanwhile, if they NEVER had the vaccine they would not have narcolepsy. Gene or not.
Posted by: mary | February 10, 2011 at 12:38 PM
My first thought is that they are now putting their spin on vaccine-induced seizures and fainting episodes, and renaming them "narcolepsy."
They are doing whatever it takes to make it sound less dangerous, less frightening--less like what it really is.
Posted by: Taximom | February 10, 2011 at 12:12 PM
I'm part Finn. 30% of Finns have a couple of alleles which relate to *susceptibility* to autoimmune disease, including narcolepsy. This is not a "gene for disease". It also relates to a range of other autoimmune diseases-- again, only in terms of susceptibility. From what I'm reading, HLA alleles relate in some way to mitochondria.
Posted by: Adriana | February 10, 2011 at 10:52 AM
notice how they compared outcomes? Those vaccinated with the flu vs. those NOT vaccinated with the flu. Isn't that the kind of comparison we are constantly being told cannot be done? would be unethical? Unreliable? who cares if they are focusing on the gene thing again! this is GOOD news for the autism community. they are saying a genetic predisposition is being triggered by the vaccine. isn't this a huge component of what we've been saying for 20 years? there is a subset of children who cannot tolerate vaccination. all we need is firm evidence that vaccines can trigger various conditions and a vaccinated vs. never vaccinated study shows a statistically significant difference in these conditions...meaning, the conditions are not being triggered by something other than vaccines....the wall is that much closer to crumbling!
Posted by: sara | February 10, 2011 at 10:49 AM
Narcolepsy has recently been linked to autoimmunity. It is interesting to note that several autoimmune diseases are on the rise in children in the US and other developed countries. It is also known that autoimmunity can be triggered after boosting the immune system, which vaccine adjuvants do. I wonder when the medical community will put two and two together.
Posted by: EV | February 10, 2011 at 10:40 AM
I had a narcoleptic co-worker years ago who would fall asleep in important one-on-one meetings. It was very disturbing to watch.
That this is happening to kids due to a vaccine and there is not an immediate recall of the vaccine is horrific.
Posted by: Beth | February 10, 2011 at 09:36 AM
where are the GSK vaccines being manufactured or purchased from anyway? Were the vaccines purchased online?...I'm suspcious of the manufacturing process and the country of origin and whether whats on the label matches what's in the bottle.
Lot of corruption. Counterfeit drugs and mislabeling is rampant. Bogus drugs are being sold over the internet. The pipeline (supply chain) is not secure.
More info from the Ameican Council of Science and Health
PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW:
Helping Patients Avoid Counterfeit Drugs over the Internet
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPPkehfnOL8&feature=related
Counterfeit Drugs: Coming to a Pharmacy Near You
http://www.acsh.org/publications/pubID.1773/pub_detail.asp
Counterfeit Drugs Update '09
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-awVJbzoU0
Posted by: Sarah | February 10, 2011 at 08:58 AM
@ s. perrin - Excellent point! The genetics gambit is intended to obfuscate, mislead, and take the "heat" off of the systematic, toxic synergy of the vaccine schedules, biologicals, and "excipients" in the vaccine schedules. This is environmental toxicity - directly-related to at least one of vaccines.
Posted by: patrons99 | February 10, 2011 at 08:02 AM
Serious topics warrant full and open discussion. What about the reports narcolepsy in relation to pandremix dosing? Where is the placebo-controlled study in support of pandremix’ safety - I mean - where is the “true-placebo” controlled study?
Generally speaking, many so-called excipients in the vaccine schedules are far from being biologically-inert. We might at least consider the law of unintended consequences and the precautionary principle. Placebo fraud is rampant in the vaccine industry.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/25001788/Angl-350s-a-Reflection-and-a-Proposal-in-Relation-to-the-New-Influenza
http://www.scribd.com/doc/25001777/Cacheof-PDF-English-Transcript-Bell-Tolling-for-Swine-Flu
http://208.69.231.70/biopharma/full7.lasso?order=483.7&S=
# Biological Index:
chicken embryo (egg) culture
influenza A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)v
influenza A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)v NYMC X-179A virus
influenza A/Viet Nam/1194/2004 (H5N1) NIBRG-14 virus
influenza NIBRG-14 virus
NIBRG-14, influenza A/Viet Nam/1194/2004 (H5N1) virus
virus culture
# Chemical Index:
AS03
DL-alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E)
formaldehyde
hemagglutinin (HA) antigen, influenza A virus
magnesium chloride
polysorbate 80 (Tween 80)
potassium chloride
potassium dihydrogen phosphate
sodium chloride
sodium deoxycholate
sodium phosphate
squalene
thimerosal (mercury derivative)
Water for injections
Posted by: patrons99 | February 10, 2011 at 07:55 AM
Any justified reason not to name the countries where the post-vaccination narcolepsy rates are highest? "Notification"? That takes, oh, maybe 30 seconds? (after all, that's what Bill Gates created all these computers for, right?)
Damned elusive genes. I'm with Willie: Vaccines (can and do) Cause Autism. And apparently narcolepsy, too.
Posted by: Zed | February 10, 2011 at 07:49 AM
90% of patients recieved the shot and only 30% share the common gene. Sounds the same as in 2009 when the announced that 65% of asd kids had a "common genetic variant" but never mentioned that 61% of controls had the same variant.
Posted by: s. perrin | February 10, 2011 at 06:53 AM