Mercury in vaccines implicated in developmental delays in infant monkeys

A new study conducted at the University of Pittsburg and reported in the scientific journal NeuroToxicology, found that infant macaque monkeys receiving a single Hepatitis B vaccine containing the mercury-based preservative thimerosal underwent significant delays in developing critical reflexes controlled by the brainstem.

Thirteen newborn rhesus macaques were given a Hepatitis B vaccine containing a standardised dose of thimerosal adjusted for their weight, four received a saline placebo, and three were not given any shots.

The vaccinated animals experienced a significant delay in the acquisition of three survival reflexes compared to unvaccinated animals. Root, snout, and suck reflexes, critical to animal survival in the wild, were delayed in the vaccinated macaques but not in the unvaccinated ones. These reflexes are controlled by the brainstem, a vital part of the brain that regulates automatic functions such as breathing, heart rate, and intestinal activity.

The delay in acquisition of three of the four survival reflexes was not contingent on birth weight or gestational age.

NB  Government vaccine guidelines were expanded in 1991 to include a Hepatitis B vaccine for infants within the first few days of life, even though the disease is primarily transmitted sexually or spread through the use of dirty needles. The introduction of the shot was part of a greatly accelerated vaccine schedule that coincides with the drastic increase in autism, which now affects one in 100 American children. Thimerosal was removed from U.S. Hepatitis B vaccines in 2000 but was not recalled from the market and was administered for approximately two more years. It still remains in other vaccines including all multi-dose shots for both the seasonal flu and H1N1.

Current government recommendations for seasonal flu and H1N1 call for pregnant women to receive both vaccines, and children as young as six months to receive as many as four separate flu shots. "This also doesn't take into account that nursing infants may be exposed to additional mercury through breastmilk should both mother and baby be vaccinated," says National Autism Association (NAA) board chair Lori McIlwain. "This study's outcome confirms that such an over-the-top toxic vaccine schedule is an assault on the developing brains of our children."

Source: National Autism Association

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