< New Documents Show Deadly SV40 Found In Newer Polio Vaccines
By William Carlsen
SF Chronicle Staff Writer
7-23-1
A monkey virus linked to human cancers may have contaminated the oral polio
vaccine for years after the U.S. government ordered manufacturers to remove
it, according to drug company documents obtained by The Chronicle.
The Chronicle reported last week that the simian virus SV40 had contaminated
early polio vaccine given to millions of Americans. When health officials
discovered in 1961 that SV40 caused malignant tumors in lab animals, they
ordered the virus eliminated from all future vaccine.
But internal memos from Lederle Laboratories, the chief producer of polio
vaccine in the United States, indicate SV40 may not have been completely
removed.
According to one memo, SV40 was found in three of 15 lots of the oral vaccine
seven months after the federal directive was issued in March 1961. Lederle
released the contaminated vaccine to the public anyway, the memo shows.
The documents also suggest that the company failed to test the monkey- kidney
seed strains used to make the bulk polio vaccine for contamination, despite a
written warning from Dr. Albert Sabin, who developed the oral vaccine.
Lederle and the U.S. government insist there is no evidence that any
contaminated vaccine was distributed after the directive went into effect.
Scientists discovered SV40 in the Salk polio vaccine in 1960. By then as many
as 30 million Americans had been given injections of the SV40-tainted polio
vaccine, which was first licensed in 1955.
In recent years more than 60 scientific studies have found SV40 in rare human
brain, bone and lung-related cancers, the same kinds of tumors the virus
caused in laboratory animals. Some scientists believe SV40 may play a role in
causing those cancers.
One of the biggest mysteries, however, is why SV40 has been found in tumors
removed from people who never received the contaminated Salk vaccine.
Researchers have several theories for how the virus could have spread from
those infected through the Salk vaccine: in transmission from mother to fetus
or through breast milk; through sexual activity or a flu-like virus.
But the Lederle documents, which were obtained by Philadelphia attorney
Stanley Kops in litigation not related to SV40, raise the possibility the
virus might have been transmitted by contaminated oral vaccine, licensed for
production in 1962.
The documents include:
-- A November 1961 memo saying the virus was found in three of 15 lots of
vaccine. According to the memo, Dr. Roderick Murray, head of the government's
program to ensure vaccine purity, allowed the lots to be released.
To comply with the removal order, Lederle had switched from rhesus monkeys,
which are natural hosts for SV40, to African green monkeys, supposedly free
from SV40. However, the memo notes that SV40 was found in 10 percent of the
green monkeys.
-- A letter from Sabin to Lederle in October 1962, warning that sufficient
testing for SV40 contamination had not been done on one of his strains of
weakened polio virus that formed the seed for bulk vaccine production.
-- A confidential memo in 1979 from a Lederle official stating: "It should be
noted that Lederle did not test the original Sabin seeds for extraneous
agents or neurovirulence since Dr. Sabin assured us that this had been done."
-- Another memo stating that Lederle did not test the seed "since only 50
(milliliters) or less of each seed were provided by Dr. Sabin."
The two memos added that testing was unnecessary because later vaccine
samples submitted for license were free of SV40.
Kops also said that he had taken testimony in 1998 from a top Lederle
official who said the company did not have the test results from many of the
vaccine lots.
"The vaccine manufacturers and the government need to disclose what really
happened," said Kops. "Without the facts, (scientists) will continue to look
in the wrong places to explain how people were infected with SV40 after
1961."
Lederle did not respond to requests for comment.
At a 1997 conference, however, a company representative outlined the series
of tests the company uses to detect SV40 contamination. The company also says
that it uses antiserum to neutralize any SV40 in the "master seeds."
But it is not clear whether these procedures were in place in the years after
the U.S. government issued its directive.
Last year, a lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles against Lederle by the parents
of 2 1/2-year-old Alexander Horwin who died of a brain tumor that later
tested positive for SV40. The suit claims that the tumor was caused by SV40
and that he became infected through a 1997 oral polio vaccine.
Kops and attorney Donald MacLachlin represent a New Jersey family that is
considering a suit against vaccine manufacturers.
In 1970, surgeons removed a large brain tumor from 2-year-old Mark Moreno. He
since has undergone five more surgeries and now wears a protective helmet
over the large opening in his cranium where bone grafts never took. Moreno,
now 33, lives with his mother and requires daily assistance.
Recent tests show Moreno's tumor was riddled with SV40, according to the
lawyers.
Eileen Moreno, Mark's mother, believes her son's brain tumor was caused by
SV40 and that he was infected through the oral polio vaccine in 1968.
Last year, two investigators from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration used
genetic testing to examine 30 samples of bulk oral polio vaccine used in the
United States going back to 1972. They reported finding no SV40.
But the government has not used the genetic tests to determine whether
vaccine made prior to 1972 was contaminated.
Dr. William Egan, deputy director of the FDA's vaccine research branch, said
testing went back only to 1972 because those samples were the only ones
available to them. "There was nothing sinister," he said.
MacLachlin said he finds it "incredible" that the government hasn't
comprehensively investigated the possibility of SV40 contamination of the
oral vaccine.
Simian virus Q&A Q: How widespread is the SV40 infection? A: Scientists and
government health officials don't know, because no comprehensive studies have
addressed the question. What is known is that during the 1950s and '60s, at
least 10 million to 30 million Americans -- and more than 100 million people
worldwide -- were given SV40-contaminated polio vaccine. The virus also has
been found in people who did not receive contaminated vaccine.
Q: Can I be tested for SV40?
A: An accurate blood test does not exist. Current antibody blood tests can be
inaccurate, scientists say, because they also may detect the presence of
closely related viruses, and SV40 may be present at such a low level that no
antibodies are produced. Researchers are working to create an effective test.
Q: In which kinds of cancers has SV40 been found?
A: The virus has been detected in rare cancers, including:
-- Mesothelioma, a fatal tumor of the membrane surrounding the lungs. Few
cases were reported prior to 1950, but the incidence has grown in the United
States to 2,000 to 4,000 cases a year, with greater incidence in Europe.
-- Brain cancers: Primarily ependymomas and choroid plexus tumors, but also
astrocytomas, glioblastomas, medulloblastoma, and meningiomas. Fewer than 1,
000 cases of these cancers are reported in the United States each year.
-- Bone cancers: Primarily osteosarcomas, but also chondrosarcoma and giant
cell tumors. These also make up fewer than 1,000 cases annually. ___
For more information on SV40 and the polio virus, please check the Internet
at sfgate.com/chronicle/sv40/
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2001/07/22/MN173141.DTL
>>
From: TxDarkKn@a...
Date: Sun Jul 29, 2001 10:22 pm
Subject: [Anthrax-no] New Documents Show Deadly SV40 Found In Newer Polio Vaccines
To: desert-storm@d..., odssa-l@o..., gwvm@s..., gulf-chat@s..., gulfwarvet@o...,
Anthrax-no@yahoogroups.com, vvigwimail@yahoogroups.com
Here is another item that had the VA asking us two or three years back on a
Gulf War Questionnaire which Oral Polio Vaccinces did we take, Salk or
Sabin... Now we might have to get all of us tested for something else... Good
thing I didn't remove that from the GW Health Questionnaire we pass out...
Check your shot records.... Please forward... thank you..... Mike
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
New Documents Show Deadly SV40 Found In Newer Polio Vaccines
By William Carlsen
SF Chronicle Staff Writer
7-23-1
A monkey virus linked to human cancers may have contaminated the oral polio
vaccine for years after the U.S. government ordered manufacturers to remove
it, according to drug company documents obtained by The Chronicle.
The Chronicle reported last week that the simian virus SV40 had contaminated
early polio vaccine given to millions of Americans. When health officials
discovered in 1961 that SV40 caused malignant tumors in lab animals, they
ordered the virus eliminated from all future vaccine.
But internal memos from Lederle Laboratories, the chief producer of polio
vaccine in the United States, indicate SV40 may not have been completely
removed.
According to one memo, SV40 was found in three of 15 lots of the oral vaccine
seven months after the federal directive was issued in March 1961. Lederle
released the contaminated vaccine to the public anyway, the memo shows.
The documents also suggest that the company failed to test the monkey- kidney
seed strains used to make the bulk polio vaccine for contamination, despite a
written warning from Dr. Albert Sabin, who developed the oral vaccine.
Lederle and the U.S. government insist there is no evidence that any
contaminated vaccine was distributed after the directive went into effect.
Scientists discovered SV40 in the Salk polio vaccine in 1960. By then as many
as 30 million Americans had been given injections of the SV40-tainted polio
vaccine, which was first licensed in 1955.
In recent years more than 60 scientific studies have found SV40 in rare human
brain, bone and lung-related cancers, the same kinds of tumors the virus
caused in laboratory animals. Some scientists believe SV40 may play a role in
causing those cancers.
One of the biggest mysteries, however, is why SV40 has been found in tumors
removed from people who never received the contaminated Salk vaccine.
Researchers have several theories for how the virus could have spread from
those infected through the Salk vaccine: in transmission from mother to fetus
or through breast milk; through sexual activity or a flu-like virus.
But the Lederle documents, which were obtained by Philadelphia attorney
Stanley Kops in litigation not related to SV40, raise the possibility the
virus might have been transmitted by contaminated oral vaccine, licensed for
production in 1962.
The documents include:
-- A November 1961 memo saying the virus was found in three of 15 lots of
vaccine. According to the memo, Dr. Roderick Murray, head of the government's
program to ensure vaccine purity, allowed the lots to be released.
To comply with the removal order, Lederle had switched from rhesus monkeys,
which are natural hosts for SV40, to African green monkeys, supposedly free
from SV40. However, the memo notes that SV40 was found in 10 percent of the
green monkeys.
-- A letter from Sabin to Lederle in October 1962, warning that sufficient
testing for SV40 contamination had not been done on one of his strains of
weakened polio virus that formed the seed for bulk vaccine production.
-- A confidential memo in 1979 from a Lederle official stating: "It should be
noted that Lederle did not test the original Sabin seeds for extraneous
agents or neurovirulence since Dr. Sabin assured us that this had been done."
-- Another memo stating that Lederle did not test the seed "since only 50
(milliliters) or less of each seed were provided by Dr. Sabin."
The two memos added that testing was unnecessary because later vaccine
samples submitted for license were free of SV40.
Kops also said that he had taken testimony in 1998 from a top Lederle
official who said the company did not have the test results from many of the
vaccine lots.
"The vaccine manufacturers and the government need to disclose what really
happened," said Kops. "Without the facts, (scientists) will continue to look
in the wrong places to explain how people were infected with SV40 after
1961."
Lederle did not respond to requests for comment.
At a 1997 conference, however, a company representative outlined the series
of tests the company uses to detect SV40 contamination. The company also says
that it uses antiserum to neutralize any SV40 in the "master seeds."
But it is not clear whether these procedures were in place in the years after
the U.S. government issued its directive.
Last year, a lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles against Lederle by the parents
of 2 1/2-year-old Alexander Horwin who died of a brain tumor that later
tested positive for SV40. The suit claims that the tumor was caused by SV40
and that he became infected through a 1997 oral polio vaccine.
Kops and attorney Donald MacLachlin represent a New Jersey family that is
considering a suit against vaccine manufacturers.
In 1970, surgeons removed a large brain tumor from 2-year-old Mark Moreno. He
since has undergone five more surgeries and now wears a protective helmet
over the large opening in his cranium where bone grafts never took. Moreno,
now 33, lives with his mother and requires daily assistance.
Recent tests show Moreno's tumor was riddled with SV40, according to the
lawyers.
Eileen Moreno, Mark's mother, believes her son's brain tumor was caused by
SV40 and that he was infected through the oral polio vaccine in 1968.
Last year, two investigators from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration used
genetic testing to examine 30 samples of bulk oral polio vaccine used in the
United States going back to 1972. They reported finding no SV40.
But the government has not used the genetic tests to determine whether
vaccine made prior to 1972 was contaminated.
Dr. William Egan, deputy director of the FDA's vaccine research branch, said
testing went back only to 1972 because those samples were the only ones
available to them. "There was nothing sinister," he said.
MacLachlin said he finds it "incredible" that the government hasn't
comprehensively investigated the possibility of SV40 contamination of the
oral vaccine.
Simian virus Q&A Q: How widespread is the SV40 infection? A: Scientists and
government health officials don't know, because no comprehensive studies have
addressed the question. What is known is that during the 1950s and '60s, at
least 10 million to 30 million Americans -- and more than 100 million people
worldwide -- were given SV40-contaminated polio vaccine. The virus also has
been found in people who did not receive contaminated vaccine.
Q: Can I be tested for SV40?
A: An accurate blood test does not exist. Current antibody blood tests can be
inaccurate, scientists say, because they also may detect the presence of
closely related viruses, and SV40 may be present at such a low level that no
antibodies are produced. Researchers are working to create an effective test.
Q: In which kinds of cancers has SV40 been found?
A: The virus has been detected in rare cancers, including:
-- Mesothelioma, a fatal tumor of the membrane surrounding the lungs. Few
cases were reported prior to 1950, but the incidence has grown in the United
States to 2,000 to 4,000 cases a year, with greater incidence in Europe.
-- Brain cancers: Primarily ependymomas and choroid plexus tumors, but also
astrocytomas, glioblastomas, medulloblastoma, and meningiomas. Fewer than 1,
000 cases of these cancers are reported in the United States each year.
-- Bone cancers: Primarily osteosarcomas, but also chondrosarcoma and giant
cell tumors. These also make up fewer than 1,000 cases annually. ___
For more information on SV40 and the polio virus, please check the Internet
at sfgate.com/chronicle/sv40/
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2001/07/22/MN173141.DTL
Our Anthrax information web site:
http://www.dallasnw.quik.com/cyberella/
PETITION TO OVERTURN/REPEAL FERES DOCTRINE
http://www.i-charity.net/ptn/80
To visit Dr. Meryl Nass's web site, go to:
http://www.anthraxvaccine.org
Tom Colosimo's website:
http://www.tomcolosimo.com
Also visit:
http://www.MajorBates.com/ and
http://www.enter.net/~jfsorg/
http://www.jamesmadisonproject.org/importantlinks.html and
http://www.aboutanthrax.org
Anthrax Vaccine Network
http://www.anthraxvaccine.net
Sgt. Sandra Larson's story
http://stripes.com/servlet/News/ViewArticle?articleId=100036895
http://www.house.gov/reform/hearings/healthcare/00.10.03/accountability.doc
