WDDTY eNews

[Guest guest]

CERVICAL CANCER: Calls for compulsory vaccine programme is funded

by – the manufacturer

 

 

Such is the clamour for governments around the world to adopt mass

immunisation programmes for adolescent girls against cervical cancer

that a mass rally took place in Paris last week. It included leading

doctors from all over Europe who shared a platform with celebrities.

 

They were calling for the universal take-up of the cervical cancer

vaccine Gardasil, the only one on the market, which is manufactured

by Sanofi Pasteur.

 

And guess what? The rally and support campaign were funded entirely

by Sanofi Pasteur, who have so far put in more than £1 million

($1.9m) to get their new vaccine adopted by governments. They paid

for the travel expenses of most of those who attended the rally in

Paris, which was heralded as " the first global summit against

cervical cancer " , and some also received an attendance fee.

 

Sanofi Pasteur's tactics have been likened to a " battering ram " ,

although they are hardly different from any other drug company.

 

True, early trials suggested the vaccine provides protection against

four common types of human papillomavirus, which can cause cervical

and vulval pre-cancers and genital warts, but nobody is sure of the

vaccine's longterm health risks.

 

Health officials are also concerned that a mass vaccine programme

would also deflect against adult screening, which they view as being

equally as important.

 

But throw enough money at something, and any minor resistance gets

trampled over, as can be witnessed in the USA where 20 states are

planning to make the vaccine compulsory despite the concerns of

parents. That's science for you.

 

(Source: The Guardian, March 26, 2007).

 

 

ANTIBIOTIC: It kills patients with special infection

 

 

The antibiotic Zyvox (linezolid) is killing patients whose catheters

have caused an infection.

 

A new study has found that Zyvox dramatically increases the risk of

death, compared with other antibiotics, when it is given to patients

fitted with a catheter that became infected by organisms known as

Gram negatives.

 

It comes as no great surprise to hear that Zyvox has never been

licensed for use against Gram negative infection.

 

(Source: FDA website).

 

KEEPING MUM: Drug companies claim secrecy even when laws force them

to reveal bribes

 

 

Everybody knows that drug companies pay doctors – or `encourage' them

through gifts and inducements – to prescribe their drugs.

 

Five states in the USA even want you to know the precise details of

these bribes, and have adopted special transparency laws to make the

transactions publicly available.

 

Not surprisingly, the drug companies are less keen on this public

display of openness, as researchers have just discovered.

 

In Vermont, which passed its disclosure laws in the last couple of

years, researchers had to negotiate with the Office of the Attorney

General before the papers were released, and even then the research

team had to manually photocopy each sheet.

 

Not that the effort was worth it. Just 39 per cent of cash and gift

transactions were considered suitable for public consumption as the

drug companies classified the vast majority as `trade secrets', and

three-quarters of that which was publicly available did not identify

the doctor concerned.

 

Nonetheless, the scant amount of information that was available

showed that drug companies paid doctors in Vermont £2.18m between

2002 and 2004. In Minnesota, which adopts a more open policy,

doctors received $30.95m cash and gifts during the same period.

 

(Source: Journal of the American Medical Association, 2007; 297:

1216-23).

 

AUTISM: It may be caused by Lyme disease, and now even doctors think

so, too

 

 

Lyme disease, the debilitating disease that's caused by a tic bite,

may be a cause of autism. A group of doctors in America has agreed

to begin preliminary investigations by finding out how many autistic

children under their care also have Lyme disease, or Borrelia

infection.

 

Parents of autistic children and alternative therapists have mooted

the possible connection for several years, but it took on more of an

official status after a `think tank' was established during a

conference last January.

 

Physicians who attended agreed to test their autistic patients for

Lyme disease, and they intend to tell other doctors if they discover

a connection.

 

They suspect autism may also be caused by other infections, too.

 

They hope to announce their initial findings at another meeting,

which is planned for June.

 

(Source: Townsend Letter, 2007; 285: 26).