Am J Public Health. 2008 Feb;98(2):244-53. Epub 2008 Jan 2.

Mercury, vaccines, and autism: one controversy, three histories.

Source

Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities, and History of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Box 3040, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA. Baker009@mc.duke.edu

Abstract

The controversy regarding the once widely used mercury-containing preservative thimerosal in childhood vaccines has raised many historical questions that have not been adequately explored. Why was this preservative incorporated in the first place? Was there any real evidence that it caused harm? And how did thimerosal become linked in the public mind to the "autism epidemic"? I examine the origins of the thimerosal controversy and their legacy for the debate that has followed. More specifically, I explore the parallel histories of three factors that converged to create the crisis: vaccine preservatives, mercury poisoning, and autism. An understanding of this history provides important lessons for physicians and policymakers seeking to preserve the public's trust in the nation's vaccine system.

Comment in

Am J Public Health. 2008 Aug;98(8):1350; author reply 1350-1.

PMID:: 18172138; [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
PMCID: PMC2376879

Free PMC Article

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Other Literature Sources

Medical

Molecular Biology Databases

THIMEROSAL - HSDB

Supplemental Content

Related citations

Mercury, vaccines, and autism, revisited. [Am J Public Health. 2008]
Mercury, vaccines, and autism, revisited.
Silbergeld EK. Am J Public Health. 2008 Aug; 98(8):1350; author reply 1350-1. Epub 2008 Jun 12.
Review An assessment of thimerosal use in childhood vaccines. [Pediatrics. 2001]
Review An assessment of thimerosal use in childhood vaccines.
Ball LK, Ball R, Pratt RD. Pediatrics. 2001 May; 107(5):1147-54.
Review Does thimerosal or other mercury exposure increase the risk for autism? A review of current literature. [Acta Neurobiol Exp (Wars). 2010]
Review Does thimerosal or other mercury exposure increase the risk for autism? A review of current literature.
Schultz ST. Acta Neurobiol Exp (Wars). 2010; 70(2):187-95.
Review Vaccines and autism: evidence does not support a causal association. [Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2007]
Review Vaccines and autism: evidence does not support a causal association.
DeStefano F. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2007 Dec; 82(6):756-9. Epub 2007 Oct 10.
A comparative evaluation of the effects of MMR immunization and mercury doses from thimerosal-containing childhood vaccines on the population prevalence of autism. [Med Sci Monit. 2004]
A comparative evaluation of the effects of MMR immunization and mercury doses from thimerosal-containing childhood vaccines on the population prevalence of autism.
Geier DA, Geier MR. Med Sci Monit. 2004 Mar; 10(3):PI33-9. Epub 2004 Mar 1.

See reviews... See all...

Cited by 5 PubMed Central articles

Review Mercury exposure and children's health. [Curr Probl Pediatr Adolesc Health Care. 201...]
Review Mercury exposure and children's health.
Bose-O'Reilly S, McCarty KM, Steckling N, Lettmeier B. Curr Probl Pediatr Adolesc Health Care. 2010 Sep; 40(8):186-215.
Mercury induces inflammatory mediator release from human mast cells. [J Neuroinflammation. 2010]
Mercury induces inflammatory mediator release from human mast cells.
Kempuraj D, Asadi S, Zhang B, Manola A, Hogan J, Peterson E, Theoharides TC. J Neuroinflammation. 2010 Mar 11; 7:20. Epub 2010 Mar 11.
A broken trust: lessons from the vaccine--autism wars. [PLoS Biol. 2009]
A broken trust: lessons from the vaccine--autism wars.
Gross L. PLoS Biol. 2009 May 26; 7(5):e1000114. Epub 2009 May 26.

See all...

Related information

Related Citations
Calculated set of PubMed citations closely related to the selected article(s) retrieved using a word weight algorithm. Related articles are displayed in ranked order from most to least relevant, with the “linked from” citation displayed first.
Compound (MeSH Keyword)
PubChem chemical compound records that are classified under the same Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) controlled vocabulary as the current articles.
References for this PMC Article
Citation referenced in PubMed article. Only valid for PubMed citations that are also in PMC.
Substance (MeSH Keyword)
PubChem chemical substance (submitted) records that are classified under the same Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) controlled vocabulary as the current articles.
Free in PMC
Free full text articles in PMC
Cited in PMC
Full-text articles in the PubMed Central Database that cite the current articles.

Recent activity

Clear Turn Off Turn On

Mercury, vaccines, and autism: one controversy, three histories.
Mercury, vaccines, and autism: one controversy, three histories.
Am J Public Health. 2008 Feb ;98(2):244-53. Epub 2008 Jan 2 .

PubMed
Fatal attraction in rats infected with Toxoplasma gondii.
Fatal attraction in rats infected with Toxoplasma gondii.
Proc Biol Sci. 2000 Aug 7 ;267(1452):1591-4.

PubMed
Immunological aspects of chronic fatigue syndrome.
Immunological aspects of chronic fatigue syndrome.
Autoimmun Rev. 2009 Feb ;8(4):287-91. Epub 2008 Sep 16 .

PubMed
CD133 is not present on neurogenic astrocytes in the adult subventricular zone, ...
CD133 is not present on neurogenic astrocytes in the adult subventricular zone, but on embryonic neural stem cells, ependymal cells, and glioblastoma cells.
Cancer Res. 2007 Jun 15 ;67(12):5727-36.

PubMed
Conserved markers of fetal pancreatic epithelium permit prospective isolation of...
Conserved markers of fetal pancreatic epithelium permit prospective isolation of islet progenitor cells by FACS.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Jan 2 ;104(1):175-80. Epub 2006 Dec 26 .

PubMed

Your browsing activity is empty.

Activity recording is turned off.

Turn recording back on

PubMed

Display Settings:

Send to:

Mercury, vaccines, and autism: one controversy, three histories.

Source

Abstract

Comment in

Publication Types, MeSH Terms, Substances, Grant Support

Publication Types

MeSH Terms

Substances

Grant Support

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Other Literature Sources

Medical

Molecular Biology Databases

Supplemental Content

Related citations

Cited by 5 PubMed Central articles

Related information

Recent activity

Simple NCBI Directory

Getting Started

Resources

Popular

Featured

NCBI Information