Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), Autism and “Shaken Baby
Syndrome”(and and many other physiological and neurological complications)
are currently epidemic throughout the world. Australia's Viera Scheibner,
Ph.D., gave a presentation at Templin's Resort here October 21 which gave
an explanation as to why this is happening to us. “Our breathing monitor
scientifically established the causal link between vaccines and sudden
infant death,” said Dr. Scheibner.
In 1985 Dr. Scheibner, a former principle research scientist for the
government of Australia, and her husband electrochemical engineer Leif
Karlsson invented the CotWatch breathing monitor for babies who are diagnosed
“at risk” for SIDS, or “Cot Death” as it is known in Australia. Over the
next three years, the couple monitored hundreds of babies and studied the
event reports that their CotWatch produced. “By 1988 we knew that vaccines
are killing babies,” said Dr. Scheibner Ph.D.
SIDS occurs among babies who have suffered a physical insult to their
vulnerable bodies. Scheibner and Karlsson learned that thmost common physical
insult suffered by SIDS babies was routine vaccinations. Printouts from
their monitor illuminated patterns that indicated critical days after vaccinations.
Once they had proven to themselves the causal link between vaccines
and SIDS and had appropriately analyzed and documented their findings,
Scheibner and Karlsson submitted their work to the medical community for
peer review. Rather than attempt to duplicate their work or alter public
health policy to protect infants, the majority of the medical community's
members chose to protect the interests of vaccine manufacturers.
In 1988 the Japanese government began recommending that children not
be vaccinated until age two. SIDS has returned to Japan since the government
now recommends vaccinations be administered at three months.
Rather than be defeated by allopathic medicine's insistence upon protecting
vaccine manufacturers interests over the lives of their tiniest patients,
Dr. Scheibner went to work in what she refers as, “the salt mines -- science.”
From approximately 7:30 p.m. until nearly midnight, Dr. Scheibner showed
how her findings through CotWatch were supported in published medical literature.
The bottom line to Dr. Scheibner's scientifically flawless arguments
is that those who are designing and implementing vaccine policy are doing
so with the full knowledge that their policies are killing babies. Furthermore,
published medical literature shows that vaccines are altering the genetic
code of people and causing them to suffer damage to their immune systems
which is making them vulnerable to numerous physical and psychological
complications.
Vaccine advocates cannot debate Dr. Scheibner, nor can they defend their
motives because the very scientific journals upon which they depend for
support, The Journal of the American Medical Association, the Lancet and
the New England Journal of Medicine have all published reports that support
her findings.
If the head of your local health department's vaccination program were
to experience Dr. Scheibner's lecture and then continue advocating mass
vaccination as sound public health policy, there would only be one question
left to ask him: Why should you not be prosecuted for conspiracy to commit
murder?
Dr. Scheibner has written two painstakingly referenced and footnoted
books on the subject. “Vaccination: 100 Years of Orthodox Research Shows
Vaccinations are a Medical Assault on the Immune System” and “Behavioral
Problems in Childhood: The Link to Vaccination”. This
excerpt copied from Dr. Mercola's website. Read more
Mercury
- What is its role in Autism and Alzheimer's
Disease? Boyd Haley, Ph.D.
Dr. Haley, a biochemist at the University of Kentucky, is probably one
of the world's top experts on mercury toxicity. Hear this fascinating review
of the irrefutable evidence that links mercury toxicity to Autism and Alzheimer's
disease. The
video is from a presentation in March of 2003. The slides are courtesy
of Dr. Haley. Please note: some slides (that correlate exactly with the
video) are not available at this time.
May 2005, US senators fast-track a bill to protect vaccine
manufacturers from litigation - Seven US Senators introduced a bill
to protect vaccine manufacturers from thousands of
pending federal lawsuits filed by parents of vaccine-damaged children.
On the eve of an historic, billion-dollar world vaccination campaign, a
leaked transcript ignites questions of vaccine safety and research corruption.
Meanwhile, US senators fast-track a bill to protect vaccine manufacturers
from litigation. With millions of lives at stake, and billions of dollars
to lose, will a merger of philanthropy, big business and compromised science
win an epic race between corporate agendas and medical ethics? In this
world exclusive report, byronchild exposes how the most powerful medical
research bodies in the United States compromise their vaccine safety research
for vested interests, as they assist in a global vaccine policy, while
a bill looms in the background to protect it all. more
Dr.
David Ayoub, M.D. lectures on the crippling effect of vaccines
Tell
Congressional and State Legislators that you oppose compulsory vaccination
or drugging! Programs to force dangerous and unwelcome vaccines
and drugs on children and adults are springing up rapidly. No fewer than
6 federal laws mandate involuntary drugging of children for "mental health"
issues - and mandate the drugging of the adults in their families and communities,
as well! New Jersey now requires mercury-laced, ineffective and potentially
dangerous flu vaccines for all pre-schoolers along with other mandatory
vaccines, making it the first State in the US to require vaccinations,
let alone ones with mercury unless one counts Texas, which mandated vaccination
of all girls with Gardasil, the poorly tested, high adverse event-realted
Human Papilloma Virus vaccine. Texas quickly rescinded its decision
under the weight of public outrage. Now States are being urged to compell
vaccination of little boys with the same poorly tested vaccine even though
they have no chance of getting the disease it supposedly prevents.
Dr.
Will Falconer - "Transfer Factor should be given
before and immediately after vaccination for at least a few weeks to help
ameliorate the immune system confusion." There are over 3,000 published
papers, 50 years of research, and thousands
of case reports on the effectiveness of Transfer Factor in modulating the
immune system. Homeopathy is
also noted for its success to antidote or remove the toxic effects of vaccines
and to re-establish balance in the organism and restore health. Certain
homeopathic remedies taken after vaccination can minimize vaccine
damage. A professional
homeopath should be consulted for more information. Holistic doctors
and pediatricians are also using Homeopathy
and Transfer Factor to successfully prevent and treat
the diseases of smallpox, measles,
whooping cough,
chickenpox, anthrax and other ailments.
Sudden
Infant Death Syndrome and Childhood Vaccines
Is There a Connection?
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association
found that children diagnosed with asthma (a respiratory ailment not unlike
SIDS) were five times more likely than not to have received pertussis vaccine.(1)
Another study found that babies die at a rate eight times greater than
normal within three days after getting a DPT shot.(2) The three primary
doses of DPT are given at two months, four months, and six months. About
85 percent of SIDS cases occur at one through six months, with the peak
incidence at age two to four months.
A 1994 study found that children diagnosed with asthma (a respiratory
ailment not unlike SIDS) were five times more likely than not to have received
pertussis vaccine.(110) Another study found that babies die at a rate eight
times greater than normal within three days after getting a DPT shot.(111)
The three primary doses of DPT are given at two months, four months, and
six months. About 85 percent of SIDS cases occur at one through six months,
with the peak incidence at age two to four months.
In a recent scientific study of SIDS, episodes of apnea (cessation of
breathing) and hypopnea (abnormally shallow breathing) were measured before
and after DPT vaccinations. "Cotwatch" (a precise breathing monitor) was
used, and the computer printouts it generated (in integrals of the weighted
apnea-hypopnea density -- WAHD) were analyzed. The data clearly shows that
vaccination caused an extraordinary increase in episodes where breathing
either nearly ceased or stopped completely. These episodes continued for
months following vaccinations. Dr. Viera Scheibner, the author of the study,
concluded that "vaccination is the single most prevalent and most preventable
cause of infant deaths."
"These data show that DPT vaccination may be a generally unrecognised
major cause of sudden infant and early childhood death, and that the risks
of immunisation may outweigh its potential benefits. A need for re-evaluation
and possible modification of current vaccination procedures is indicated
by this study." William C. Torch, M.D., Director of Child Neurology, Department
of Paediatrics, University of Nevada School of Medicine (charts
and details)
Vaccine
Reaction Images from the CDC Warning: these are horrific images of
severe vaccine reactions in babies and children.
Dr Mendelsohn, M.D. - "My suspicion, which is shared by
others in my profession, is that the nearly 10,000 SIDS deaths that occur
in the United States each year are related to one or more of the vaccines
that are routinely given children. The pertussis vaccine is the most likely
villain, but it could also be one or more of the others."
Harris L. Coulter, PhD. - "Crib death" was so infrequent in the
pre-vaccination era that it was not even mentioned in the statistics, but
it started to climb in the 1950s with the spread of mass vaccination against
diseases of childhood."
"I have run against so many histories of little children who had never
seen a sick day until they were vaccinated and who, in the several years
that have followed, have never seen a well day since. I couldn't put my
finger on the disease they have. They just weren't strong. Their resistance
was gone. They were perfectly well before they were vaccinated. They have
never been well since." William Howard Hay, M.D. on June 25, 1937, to
The Medical Freedom Society.
Excerpt from Concerned Parents for Vaccine Safety website
Do
you have a vaccine legal issue, question, or need help/support?
or call 919-960-5172 NC. He is one of only a handful of attorneys
in the U.S. with a focus on vaccine legal exemptions. See his article Vaccine
Religious Exemption
Is
It Child Abuse -- Or Something Else Entirely?
Often a child will be thought to have been abused, when in fact low
vitamin C stores, combined with the stresses of vaccination or infection,
may have produced the physical signs suggesting abuse. Bruising, subdural
hematoma, brain swelling, retinal hemorrhages, and even rib fractures are
all signs of severe vitamin C deficiency, or infantile scurvy; but the
need for blood vitamin C analysis and appropriate treatment may not be
appreciated. A recent article by C. Alan B. Clemetson, M.D., [1] described
signs like retinal petechiae, subdural hemorrhages, and broken bones, often
thought to be indications of child abuse or trauma. He believes that
these signs could be a result of a variant form of Barlow’s disease.
SIDS
and Vaccines
In 1986 Connaught Laboratories a DPT vaccine manufacturer included
in their product insert, "SIDS has occurred in infants following the administration
of DPT. One study has showed no casual connection."
Then in 1984 Wyeth Laboratories another DPT manufacturer included in
their product insert "The occurrence of SIDS has been reported following
administration of DPT. The significance of these reports is unclear."
When infants unexplained deaths began to happen after DPT vaccinations
in Japan the government raised the vaccine age to two .When this was done
SIDS cases dropped significantly. When the vaccination age was lowered
to 3 months and older (during the 80's) SIDS deaths increased.
About SIDS
Most vaccine-induced deaths in this country are listed as SIDS and SIDS
statistics are NOT included in vaccine adverse reaction data, even if a
child dies only a few hours after receiving inoculation. READ
LAURA'S STORY
VACCINATION
- the facts "100 Years of Orthodox Research shows that Vaccines
Represent a Medical Assault on the Immune System" Viera Scheibner PhD
About SIDS...Eleven years ago, Dr Viera Scheibner
became involved in the CotWatch programme, designed to monitor childhood
breathing patterns. It soon became apparent that children reached a crisis
condition coincidental to the day of vaccination. Indeed, Dr Scheibner
has scientific evidence to show that Sudden Infant Death
Syndrome, or Cot Death, is a 'convenient bin in which to throw vaccine-damanged
children'.
Studies
are demonstrating a relationship between the DPT vaccine SIDS and Seizures
by Harris L. Coulter, Ph.D.
"So we have witnessed a steady rise in the incidence of SIDS, closely
following the growth in childhood vaccinations. But information on the
progress of this epidemic has been radically suppressed in the official
literature. Whereas in earlier decades -- up to the end of the 1950s --
the medical establishment could recognize the fact of death after vaccination,
more recently, as the official position has hardened, the earlier concessions
have been withdrawn, and vaccinations of all kinds are now declared absolutely
safe at all times and in all places. This has required some fancy footwork
with the epidemiologic statistics, as we will see below." Please help with
a survey - see below
Concerned Parents for Vaccine Safety Is asking
for your help They are currently trying to gather info on the vaccine/
SIDS connection.
A study undertaken at the University of California, Los Angeles, under
the sponsorship of the Food and Drug Administration, and which has been
confirmed by other studies, links DPT (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus)
vaccination, and more specifically the pertussis component, to sudden infant
death syndrome (SIDS). This study found that 53 of 145 SIDS victims whose
families were interviewed had received a DPT vaccination within 4 weeks.
The authors conclude that "the excess of deaths in the 24 hours and first
week following immunization and the absence of deaths in the fourth week
following immunizations were significant." They call for more studies to
substantiate their findings, despite the fact that this is already the
third investigation, and all 3 have pointed in the same direction. (Pediatric
Infectious Disease Journal, 1983. Possible temporal association between
diphtheria - tetanus toxoid - pertussis vaccination and sudden infant death
syndrome. Baraff, L.J., Ablon, W.J., Weiss, R.C.)
"Sudden Infant Death Syndrome has been reported following administration
of DPT. The significance is unclear.85% of SIDS cases occur in the period
1 through 6 months of age, with the peak incidence at age 2 to 4 months."
From
the accompanying insert to Connaught Labs DPT shot.
"The evidence for indicting immunisations for SIDS is circumstantial,
but compelling. However, the keepers of the keys to medical-research funds
are not interested in researching this very important lead to the cause
of an ongoing, and possibly preventable, tragedy. Anything that implies
that immunisations are not the greatest medical advance in the history
of public health is ignored or ridiculed. Can you imagine the economic
and political import of discovering that immunisations are killing thousands
of babies?" Dr William C. Douglass, M.D. (Honored twice as America's
'Doctor of the Year')
AUTISM: is there a vaccine connection?Shaken
Baby Syndrome or Vaccine-Induced Encephalitis?
There is an increasing amount of research being conducted into the
possible link between autism and vaccination.
The
national on-line "Show Us the Vaccine Data Petition" was announced
by the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) at an August 23, 2004,
meeting of the Institute of Medicine (IOM), National Academies of Sciences
in Washington, D.C. At that meeting, parents of vaccine-injured autistic
children protested that the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) was being
used by federal health officials to cover up vaccine risks associated with
mercury preservatives in vaccines. That day, the National Vaccine Information
Center, as well as SAFEMINDS, National Autism Association, Moms Against
Mercury, CoMed, NoMercury.org and Unlocking Autism, all called for full
public disclosure of all government-held vaccine risk data in the VSD
Shaken Baby Syndrome
or Vaccine-Induced Encephalitis?
New Scientist recently published a study that challenges the widely
held view that only extreme violence causes shaken baby syndrome and calls
into question the scientific evidence behind many convictions for killing
infants. Many parents have been charged with murder for allegedly shaking
their babies to death, but medical evidence suggests that vaccinations
are to blame in a large number of these cases.
"Shaken baby syndrome (SBS) commonly describes a combination of subdural
hematoma, retinal hemorrhage, and diffuse axonal injury (DAI) as the triad
of diagnostic criteria. In some, the presence of rib or other fractures
is also taken as a sign of abuse. The basic issue to be reviewed here is
whether or not in some instances in which a father, family member, or caretaker
has been accused of causing the death of an infant or child from the SBS,
the true cause of death was a catastrophic vaccine reaction. Few published
studies on vaccine effects include before-and-after studies of immune parameters
or brain function studies such as electroencephalograms, or long-term safety
monitoring. Inadequate consideration has been given to the additive or
synergistic adverse effects of multiple simultaneous vaccines, although
in the case of toxic chemicals, two compounds together may be 10 times
more toxic than either separately, or 3 compounds 100 times more toxic."
Harold
E. Buttram, MD
Polio/DPT vaccine and SIDS
My
Anti-Vaccine Passion
by Jan Tritten, editor Midwifery
Today Magazine
The only "SIDS" case I have had in my practise (20 yrs, 800 births)
was a little boy named Sam....
After
the vaccinations: homeopathic support Homeopathy can help
you and your child get through the milder aftereffects of many vaccinations.
30C potency of these remedies every hour is a good general guideline. more
Homeopathic
Answer For Vaccination
Frank King, Jr., Ph.D.
Evidence is mounting on both sides of the vaccination issue. Minor symptoms
to lifelong diseases can occur from either not being immunized, or more
frighteningly, from being immunized! The legal ramifications can be equally,
if not more, devastating. The truth is the more you study both sides of
the issue, the more you see a lose-lose scenario. Actually the results
of this vaccination perplexion is a new mental condition called “vaccination
anxiety.” The good news is the benefits of homeopathy can turn this scenario
into a win-win situation for everybody. more
Hepatitis B vaccine and SIDS
Excerpt from the Compleat
Mother website
MICHAEL
BELKIN'S WRITTEN TESTIMONY TO CONGRESS
"My daughter Lyla Rose Belkin died on September 16, 1998 at the age
of five weeks, about 15 hours after receiving her second Hepatitis B vaccine
booster shot. Lyla was a lively, alert five-week-old baby when I last held
her in my arms. Little did I imagine as she gazed intently into my eyes
with all the innocence and wonder of a newborn child that she would die
that night. She was never ill before receiving the Hepatitis B shot that
afternoon. At her final feeding that night, she was extremely agitated,
noisy and feisty -- and then she fell asleep suddenly and stopped breathing.
The autopsy ruled out choking. The NY Medical Examiner ruled her death
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). But the NY Medical Examiner (Dr. Persechino)
neglected to mention Lyla’s swollen brain or the hepatitis B vaccine in
the autopsy report. The coroner spoke to my wife and I and our pediatrician
(Dr. Zullo) the day of the autopsy and clearly stated that her brain was
swollen. "
In a report in the JAMA (May 94 Vol 271 No
20) from a summary of a report from the Institute of Medicine which states
a causal relationship with Anaphylaxis and Hepatitis B vaccine and
cannot accept or reject a causal relation with Gullian-Barre Syndrome,
Demyelinating Disease of the Central Nervous System,
Arthritis and SIDS. JAMA
(May 94 Vol 271 No 20)
Hepatitis B Vaccine- Experimenting
on our Children
CIVIL MANAGEMENT AND CRIMINAL
CONSEQUENCES OF VACCINE INJURY
by Rev. Alan Phillips
Vaccine injuries can have both civil and criminal ramifications. This
paper explores civil management of vaccine injury for victims seeking compensation
through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (Part
I), and discusses the potentially devastating consequences that can
befall a family when injuries caused by vaccines are mistakenly attributed
to physical abuse inflicted by a caretaker (Part
II).
DISPELLING VACCINATION MYTHS
by Rev. Alan Phillips
Decades of studies published in the world’s leading medical journals
have documented vaccine failure and serious adverse vaccine events, including
death. Dozens of books written by doctors, researchers, and independent
investigators reveal serious flaws in immunization theory and practice.
Yet, incredibly, most pediatricians and parents are unaware of these findings.
Vaccine Bookshelf / library
Vaccines:
Are They Really Safe?
by Gary Null, Ph.D.
Gary Null began this investigative report by examining some basic beliefs
that we, as members of a "modern" society, often accept without question.
Then, over the next few months, Gary will continue to reveal the effects
of specific vaccines and the disturbing conclusions of scientific peer
review studies as he continues to probe the health, economic, political
and legal implications of immunization.
-
Why We Assume Vaccines are Safe and Effective
-
Why We Should Question Our Assumptions
-
1. Safety Issues
-
2. Unsound Principles
-
3. Questionable Science
-
4. The Natural Evolution of Disease
-
5. Vaccine Propaganda (this section is
being edited)
-
6. Toxic Vaccine Ingredients
-
Effects of Specific Vaccines
-
1. The Diptheria and Diptheria Tetanus
Pertussis (DPT) 2. Vaccine
-
3. The Flu Vaccine
-
4. The Hepatitis B Vaccine
-
5. The Measles/Mumps/Rubella (MMR) Vaccine
-
6. The Smallpox Vaccine
-
7. The Tetanus Vaccine
-
8. Lessons of History
-
Provocation Disease
-
1. Allergies
-
2. Asthma
-
3. Cancer and Leukemia
-
4. Chronic Fatigue
-
5. Crib Death (SIDS)
6. Diabetes
What
Every Parent Should Know BEFORE Their Childen Are Vaccinated! Why are
a growing number of parents and health care professionals around the world
questioning vaccination? The controversy stems from the thousands of deaths
and permanent disabilities attributed to vaccination annually, as well
as the many published medical studies, government statistics, congressional
testimonies, and other credible sources that directly contradict commonly
held assumptions about vaccine safety and effectiveness.
"Bart Classen, a Maryland physician, published data showing that diabetes
rates rose significantly in New Zealand following a massive hepatitis B
vaccine campaign in young children, and that diabetes rates also went up
sharply in Finland after three new childhood vaccines were introduced."
Nicholas
Regush
In fall 1997, two influential professional magazines featured articles
asking the question: Has the decrease of infectious diseases in childhood
through the mass use of vaccines been replaced with an increase in chronic
diseases such as diabetes and asthma? The Economist, a prestigious international
magazine read by world leaders in government, business and public policy,
and Science News, a magazine read by both health care professionals and
the general public, explored the reported links between vaccines and chronic
diseases in their November 22, 1997 issues. Learn
more about vaccine and diabetes connection --- asthma and
vaccine connection --- SIDS and autism and vaccine connection
--- "Shaken Baby Syndrome": the vaccination link
Congressman is calling for criminal penalties for any government
agency that knew about the dangers of thimerosal in vaccines and did nothing
to protect American children. Congressman Dan Burton (R-Indiana)
during Congressional Hearing: "You mean to tell me that since 1929, we've
been using Thimerosal, and the only test that you know of is from
1929, and every one of those people had mennigitis, and they all died?"
For nearly an hour, Burton repeatedly asked FDA and CDC officials what
they knew and when they knew it. (Thimerosal contains a related mercury
compound called ethyl mercury. Mercury is a toxic metal that can cause
immune, sensory, neurological, motor, and behavioral dysfunctions.)
Please get informed!Enter the vaccine information
site
Homeopathy
can be used successfully to prevent and treat smallpox, measles,
whooping
cough,
chickenpox, and other ailments.
Would you allow big brother to enforce vaccinations on your kids? Government
Enforced Vaccinations Vaccination Tracking Registry - Government programs
that limit your choices -and your rights- in health care when it comes
to mandatory vaccination. These mandates last for 40 or so years
and they're impossible to repeal. Also, learn about Legal Requirements
and Exemptions
Are we placing our animals at risk too? Most recently, an article
appeared in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
entitled "Are We Vaccinating Too Much?" Read the comments of veterinarians
who
believe that vaccines are damaging our pets.
Excerpt from
the Wall Street Journal, Friday, October 12, 2001 (front page)
Worries About Safety Of Its Anthrax Vaccine Put the Army in a Bind.
Soldiers Ordered Inoculated Against Biological Threat Claim Harsh Side
Effects. "...But soon after his first inoculation in February, the
29-years-old Mr. Nietupski showed up at an urgent -care facility with sores
all over his mouth and throat. "The side of my tongue was all raw with
little canker sores, and bloody mucus was coming out of my nose, " Mr.
Nietupski says. His maladies, ultimately diagnosed as an autoimmune disorder
in which his body accidentaly attacked itself, grew worse as he got the
next two installements of the six-shot regime. Mr. Nietupski and several
of the doctors who have examined him, believe the anthrax vaccine caused
his severe reaction and may also be to blame for the blood clots
Mr. Nietupski experienced in his legs months later."read
the entire story in the Wall Street Journal, Friday, October 12, 2001 (front
page)more on anthrax
vaccines Alternatives
to Antibiotics
Victory
Over Crib Death by Lendon H. Smith, MD
This article summarizes the book The
Infant Survival Guide: Protecting Your Baby from the Dangers of Crib Death,
Vaccines and Other Environmental Hazards, by the same authors. It is
currently being published by Smart Publications, Petaluma, CA.
We propose a new paradigm. The conventional paradigm, or system of thought
about crib death, assumes the cause is unknown; and preventing it is hopeless;
that SIDS is multifactorial, that several mechanisms can function, possibly
several at the same time. Further, that no one of these may be fatal, but
a combination can kill; and that one can only lower the risk and offer
sympathy afterward. This approach to crib death is a cop-out and a failure.
The New Paradigm
(A) SIDS has one primary cause, which we identify, noting a very few
exceptions.
(B) And we present the preventives that have achieved 100-percent success;
whence the title: VICTORY OVER CRIB DEATH.
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is an unexpected infant death, after which
thorough autopsy and examination of the death scene and circumstances at
time of death reveal no identifiable cause of death. SIDS risk begins about
two weeks after birth. It is the leading cause of death in months one to
six, declines rapidly after a peak in the third month when the immune status
received from the mother is ebbing, and is rare after a year of age.
The definition “SIDS” is faulty, for two reasons.
(1) A syndrome is “the aggregate of symptoms associated with a disease
condition.”[1] In crib death the only symptom is death itself. The “syndrome”
designation opened the door for well-paid specialists to enjoy a nice lifestyle
while investigating various “risk factors”--but ignoring the actual cause.
(2) The term “sudden” also is inapplicable; we show that certain precipitating
events make crib death, and sometimes its probable date, predictable.
Before World War II, unexplained infant deaths were unusual. But after
1950, the governments of nearly all the rich industrialized countries (regarding
Japanese practice, see later) required treatment of baby and child mattresses
with flame retardant chemicals. Phosphorus and antimony were most commonly
used; arsenic was sometimes added later as a preservative.[2]
Sadly, this well-intentioned measure was counterproductive in two ways.
(1) American SIDS deaths ballooned 400-fold; the toll has since declined.
(2) Among knowledgeable observers, it is well known that the number
of baby deaths in residential blazes multiplied.[3] Statistical evidence,
unfortunately, is not available.
The mechanism of death is identical in both types of tragedy: the generation
of extremely poisonous gases from the chemicals that had been added—in
all innocence. First, with regard to SIDS. Common, ordinarily harmless
household fungi such as Scopulariopsis brevicaulis and certain microorganisms
consume the phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, added as fire retardants and
plastic softeners.
In consuming the chemicals, the fungi emit the heavier-than-air neurotoxic
gases based on phosphine (PH3), arsine (AsH3)[4] and stibine (SbH3). These
gases are about one thousand times more poisonous than carbon monoxide,
which can kill a person in a closed garage with a running engine. They
are about as toxic as Sarin, used in the 1980s Iran-Iraq war and in a Tokyo
terrorist subway poisoning in 1995.
In probably the worst environmental disaster of the 20th century, these
toxic gases have killed about one million victims of SIDS worldwide. Gas
generation starts when a mattress, containing both the chemicals and the
fungi, is warmed to body temperature in contact with the baby. Perspiration,
dribble, urine, vomit, body heat and—as we shall see, critically important--high
(alkaline) pH enable the fungi to grow and generate gas rapidly.
If a mattress contains any antimony, for example, there is invariably
more than enough, when converted to stibine, to kill a baby. Breathed for
an extended time even in minute quantity, these nearly odorless gases can
interrupt the choline/acetylcholine transfer of nervous impulses from the
brain to the heart and lungs. That shuts down the central nervous system;
heart function and breathing stop. For another proposed mechanism of toxic
gas death, see later.
Most of these gases (phosphine is an exception, details below) remain
in a thin layer on the baby’s crib and diffuse away. But if enough gas
accumulates to a fatal dose, the parents know nothing of it until their
terrible discovery, typically the next morning. The attendant psychiatric
morbidity from needless guilt reactions is enormous.[5] Every parent of
a small baby or parent-to-be is wondering, “Will my child become a statistic?
Will he/she have to die because of something I did or did not do?” Older
children are less at risk because the gases cause them to develop a headache
and call for help. For physiological reasons, adults are not put at risk
by such gas generation. As to how these gases kill in house conflagrations,
see later.
A fever, the God-given mechanism for killing dangerous organisms, can
become a two-edged sword. A rise in the temperature of mattress and bedding
in contact with the baby from 98.6 F to 104 F can make the fungi more active
and thus increase toxic gas generation tenfold or more.[6] Many boy babies
have a faster metabolic rate and inhale a greater volume of air than girls,
and their slightly higher temperature causes fungi to generate gases more
rapidly. The result is higher SIDS risk: in one study, the SIDS rate for
boys was 30 percent higher than for girls.[7]
In some cases, fungal growth in PVC, polyvinyl chloride, a soft plastic
commonly used as the mattress covering, was associated with development
of a pink stain in the shape of the sleeping infant. Such mattresses were
always found to be generating one or more of the gases. (Richardson asked,
“Must babies still die?”) Pink stain often results from, and demonstrates
presence of, this type of fungal growth. There is even a reference in the
Bible to pinkish mildew, and a health warning given (Leviticus 14:B).
To prevent crib death, an appropriate gas-impermeable barrier is needed
between mattress and baby. An inexpensive slip-on mattress cover called
BabeSafe®--invented by New Zealander T.J. Sprott, PhD--came to market
in New Zealand in 1996. Among one hundred thousand or so babies sleeping
on this/these product(s) there and elsewhere, not one crib death has been
reported.[8] [9] [10] An equally successful alternative is to wrap the
entire mattress using thick, clear polyethylene plastic; see instructions
with supply details at the end of this document.
Until BabeSafe® is obtained, or when its use might not be feasible
as while traveling, mothers can reduce (but not eliminate) the risk of
SIDS by elevating the head end of the crib an inch or two, letting any
of these heavier than air toxic gases flow to the foot end--and dissipate
away to the floor. A rolled towel prevents the baby from sliding. According
to an informal test reported in the 1960s by an American metropolitan newspaper,
that procedure prevented any crib deaths. We could not track down the source.
The result, mysterious at the time, is now readily explained by the research
outlined above. Also, ensure that baby sleeps face up. A bassinet with
impervious sides would trap gases.
Historical Background
The fungal generation of arsines in conditions of mildew has been known
for well over a hundred years. This killed thousands of children in Europe
in the 1800s; the Italian analytical chemist Gosio discovered its cause
in 1892.[11] [12] Dr. Sprott proposed a toxic gas explanation for SIDS
in 1986.[13] He is a consulting chemist and forensic scientist; his success,
notably in certain criminal cases, earned him great fame and respect in
New Zealand. In 1989, Mr. Barry A. Richardson, a widely published British
consulting scientist and expert in materials degradation, independently
came to the same conclusion, and then further refined and elaborated the
connection to crib death in the early 1990s.[14] [15] Dr. Sprott, who generously
cooperated with us in writing our book and this article, corroborated and
strengthened the argument in 1996 in his compelling book, The Cot Death
Cover-up?, cited above.
Also in 1989, British nonprofessional researcher Peter Mitchell, deeply
concerned at the high SIDS rate in Britain, made a further landmark discovery.
Studying records of hundreds of cases, he found that the risk of crib death
doubles from a mother’s first baby to her second and doubles again from
the second to the third baby. Others had noticed this factor, but couldn’t
explain higher SIDS risk among a mother’s later babies.
The Toxic Gas Explanation for SIDS makes it quite clear: the fungal
spores are established during prior use; and so gas production starts sooner
and in greater volume. Mr. Mitchell also found that infants of poor single
mothers, typically young and immature, have previously used mattresses
and bedding because they cannot afford new ones. Because of this and the
high stresses of daily living, they have seven times greater risk than
babies of wealthy parents, who almost always buy new mattresses and bedding
for their babies.[16]
Similarly, in Taiwan from 1988 to 1992, babies born second to fourth
were 70 percent more likely to die of SIDS than the first; risk for fifth
or later babies was up 130 percent.[17] The authors of this report didn’t
know about toxic gases, and so they couldn’t understand their finding.
Only the toxic gas hypothesis can explain these statistics--which almost
certainly apply to such countries as the U.S. and Canada.
The two discoveries, (1) One hundred percent protection by BabeSafe®
and (2) the doubled, then quadrupled risk in subsequent babies, appear
to destroy theories blaming SIDS on vaccinations (see later), poor nutrition,
rebreathing of CO2, or any medical cause. Also, as Dr. Sprott explains,
the totality of our knowledge about SIDS makes it clear that there is only
one cause.
As would be expected if toxic gases are the true cause, reducing babies’
exposure to them lowered crib deaths. This is why face-up sleeping reduced
SIDS by removing the baby’s face somewhat from the mattress. Toxic gas
output from infants’ mattresses declined rapidly in Britain after Mr. Richardson
publicized his hypothesis in June 1989, and again in December 1994 after
he and Dr. Sprott dramatized the problem in “The Cook Report,” a highly-rated
program on BBC television. Parents bought new mattresses that lacked the
potential for toxic gas creation, or properly wrapped old ones. Manufacturers
quietly began to remove the chemicals, which fire safety regulations had
required.[18] Before that, the SIDS rate in Britain had been rising; it
had reached a tragic new peak in 1986-88 when more phosphorus was added
to baby mattresses.[19] It fell for the first time immediately after Richardson’s
1989 announcement.
The ongoing, first-ever decline in Britain’s SIDS rate accelerated in
December 1991, after “Back-to-Sleep” publicity urged parents to put babies
to sleep face up.[20] [21] The toxic gas hypothesis explains the nearly
worldwide drop in crib deaths, which followed that campaign.[22] Incidentally,
New Zealand was the first country to make face-up sleeping a national program,
after research there proved its effectiveness. Some babies are known to
have rolled from side to prone before dying.[23] Yet, many SIDS victims
have died sleeping face-up. The London Stationery Office reported, of 305
SIDS babies put to bed face-up, 105 were found dead still lying face-up.[24]
This refutes the claim that face-up sleeping is the answer to SIDS.
SIDS incidence in Britain (0.7 per thousand live births) is now 70 percent
lower than 1986-88, when it was 2.3 per 1,000. It is slightly below the
rate of about 0.75 per thousand (totaling about 3,000 a year, on average,
around eight now-avoidable SIDS tragedies every night) in America, where
parents follow advice of health agencies to varying degrees. As explained
below, there are many more crib deaths on each weekend night than each
weeknight.
The British Limerick Commission investigated and rejected the toxic
gas hypothesis.[25] When read carefully, state Mr. Richardson, Dr. Sprott
and Dr. Michael Fitzpatrick,[26] the tests reported in the commission’s
analysis clearly confirm the hypothesis[27]--as demonstrated by the success
of proper mattress wrapping and BabeSafe® (not one crib death).[28]
But the Commission’s final condensed summary, the only report that citizens
and physicians read, did not accurately state those findings. The commissioners,
who were already biased against the theory, knew that revealing the truth
could subject the British government to millions of pounds in liability
lawsuits. Such lying for financial reasons, sadly, is the rule rather than
the exception throughout medicine and science.
The facts sketched out above will surprise the "experts" who for years
shouted "Back to Sleep." Sleeping face up is a partial solution because
it makes the baby less likely to inhale heavier-than-air toxic gases generated
in the mattress, and that fact explains the worldwide decline in SIDS after
the “back to sleep” campaign. But it is far from the total answer, mainly
because babies can also absorb the toxic gases, especially phosphine, through
their skin. Also, phosphine is only slightly heavier than air, and so a
baby can die from inhaling that gas despite sleeping face up.[29] Babies
have died of SIDS in almost any position; one died in his mother’s arms.[30]
Our interpretation: when she picked her baby up, he was already dying from
gas exposure.
Ample Further Evidence Supports the Toxic Gas Explanation.
(a) After near misses, monitors of breathing and heartbeat confirm the
described sequence of events.[31] And in SIDS autopsies, evidence of lasting
cerebral hypoxia (severe lack of oxygen in the brain) both before and after
birth corroborates the mechanism.[32] [33] (See proposed additional mechanism,
below.)
(b) The body tissues of crib death babies and the mattresses on which
they died contain high concentrations of antimony, the source of stibine
gas, whereas bodies of babies who died of other causes and non-SIDS inducing
mattresses contain little or no detectable antimony.[34] [35] Remnants
of phosphorus and arsenic are always present in the body naturally, and
so tracking them is not meaningful.[36]
(c) The hair of living babies contains 10 to 100 times more antimony
than their parents’ hair,[37] demonstrating that they were exposed to gas
generated from their mattresses.[38] And about 95 percent of 200 consecutive
SIDS babies in a 1989 test sample died on used mattresses.[39]
(d) The decline in SIDS in Britain, cited above, itself powerfully supports
the toxic gas explanation.
A Proposed Extension of the Toxic Gas Theory.
Repeated, at times severe, episodes of hypoxemia (insufficient aeration
of arterial blood) or asphyxia, or both, occur in infants who are at increased
risk for SIDS.[40] [41] Cyanosis, blue color of lips and nail beds, which
is very common in SIDS victims, results from lack of enough oxygen.[42]
Hypoxia is an abnormal condition resulting from a decrease in oxygen
supplied to or utilized by body tissues.[43] Derrick Lonsdale, MD, calls
it hypo-oxidative metabolism; it kills tissues. “Any cell (except erythrocytes,
red blood cells) made hypoxic for a sufficient period is irreversibly injured.”[44]
“Regarding injury to the brain, neuroscientists use the terms hypoxia
and ischemia interchangeably…. [Ischemia is a lack of oxygen-carrying blood
flow in an organ or tissue.] In local ischemia, cells in the center of
the ischemic zone are damaged most rapidly; cells in the surrounding fluid
(the ischemic penumbra) receive some oxygen from other blood vessels and
thus are less hypoxic.”[45]
The killing of tissue leading to SIDS can take the form of apoptosis,
i.e. programmed cell suicide, or “cellular hari-kari,”[46] which is commonly
associated with diseases of aging. Apoptosis wreaks greater damage at higher
body temperatures.[47] That fits our proposal, below, that inhalation of
toxic gases—concentration of which is higher with a fever--initiates apoptosis
possibly leading to crib death. Cells at the center of the hypoxic area
can die, instead, by necrosis, i.e. rupturing and spilling the cellular
contents into the extracellular fluid.[48]
Karen A. Waters, MD, et al, at Montreal Children’s Hospital found neuronal
apoptotic cells in 79 percent of 29 SIDS victims they examined, but in
no control cases.[49] Apoptosis in two to three percent of neurons can
signify a cell regression rate of 25 percent per day;[50] they found apoptosis
in more than 20 percent of such cells, implying rapid cell death. Dr. Waters
continues, “In SIDS victims, neuronal loss has been reported in the brainstem
arcuate nucleus,[51] a region thought to be involved in control of respiration…
And we found significant neuronal apoptosis in the nucleus of the tractus
solitarius, a region involved in autonomic and respiratory control [i.e.
in making breathing an ‘automatic’ process not requiring conscious control].
“Repeated episodes of hypoxemia first lead to confirmed neuronal apoptosis
in select vulnerable brain regions. Then comes the disappearance of a significant
number of cells, and eventually impaired function.”[52] Inhalation of ammonia
from the baby’s feces can aggravate hypoxia/hypoxemia. Ammonia combines
with and inactivates carbon dioxide; the baby needs free CO2 to trigger
the breathing reflex.[53]
Dr. Waters’ research team found evidence of an unidentified serious
insult, probably within 24-48 hours of death. Conventional (Paradigm 1)
researchers have long written of hypoxia causing crib death, but they have
not always studied its sources. We propose that the referenced insult is
inhalation of toxic gases night after night. This offers a plausible mechanism
of death, concurrent with that presented earlier: interruption of choline/acetylcholine
transfer of nervous impulses from the brain to the heart and lungs. If
this toxicity destroys the nerve function, the two explanations become
one.
Apoptosis, interestingly, is also an important homeostatic, health promoting
process during central nervous system development. [54]
Hypoxia also promotes formation of tiny, electrically imbalanced particles
known as free radicals (also called oxidants). A free radical is an atom
or atom group carrying an unpaired electron in its outer ring; as a result,
free radicals are unbalanced and highly reactive. They dart about the body
damaging cells; and any molecule they meet, in turn becomes a free radical,[55]
potentially starting a chain reaction that could damage tissues and perhaps
cause SIDS.
Other free radicals reach our bodies through toxins in the air, water,
and food, or are generated inside us as part of our defensive response
to infection or other stress. In excess, they promote diseases of all kinds
and aging.[56] [57] An antioxidant molecule donates an electron so as to
quench a free radical.
All this valuable research is helpful, but it does not explain the ultimate
cause. As Dr. Sprott points out, what is it that brings all these conditions
about? They do not just happen! The common thread is the poisoning, and
all the symptoms and findings reported above are completely explained by
gaseous poisoning with a “nerve gas.”
The toxic gas explanation therefore casts new light on poorly understood
aspects of these unmitigated family tragedies. Crib death is most common
in industrialized countries where baby mattresses contain any of the three
listed chemicals. In countries such as Japan, Hong Kong and the Pacific
Islands, people use for their beds either chemicals-free cotton or simple
woven floor mats.[58] Fungi are ubiquitous.[59] But without chemicals to
consume--either artificially added or naturally present in bedding--the
fungi create no toxic gases. Preservatives and fire retardants in Japan
use safe boron; SIDS is slowly rising there as parents adopt Western style
mattresses and bedding.[60]
Toxic gases arise from sheepskins and other "natural" bedding such as
tea-tree bark fibers, which are widely used throughout Australia and New
Zealand. The New Zealand Cot Death Study, 1987-90, found that half of all
crib deaths occurred on sheepskins.[61] Depending on the soil on which
the sheep graze, their skins can contain phosphorus, arsenic and/or antimony,
often in high concentration. Tea-tree bark normally contains phosphorus,
since the trees excrete toxins into their bark.[62]
Recent research, presented for the first time at the SIDS 2000 conference
(Auckland, New Zealand, February 2000) by professor Bill Cullen from University
of British Columbia, proved the generation of an arsine from sheepskins
containing arsenic. The sheepskins tested were provided to Dr. Cullen by
Dr. Sprott, who had obtained them from parents who had lost to SIDS babies
sleeping on the very same sheepskins.
What About Nutrition?
Poor nutrition has never been proved to increase SIDS risk, and good
nutrition, including breastfeeding, has not been proved to lower SIDS risk.
Mothers who start bottle-feeding early typically live in low-income families
and re-use baby mattresses.[63] (Note: Massive intake of vitamin C to stamp
out SIDS--see later--was chemical, not nutritional.)
Proponents of nutritional theories relate incidence to geographical
areas and census data showing low and high levels of one or more nutrients.
But they have not suggested a realistic manner in which death would occur:
the guillotine, which does the actual killing. Regions with higher concentrations
of dietary iodine, e.g., appear to have lower SIDS risk than areas with
less dietary iodine.[64] Similarly, low dietary thiamine has been blamed.[65]
[66] [67] Derrick Lonsdale, MD, halted babies’ apneas and prevented what
he judged to be inevitable SIDS deaths by supplementing thiamine.[68] In
a letter he told of a baby who nearly became a SIDS casualty from a slow
carbon monoxide leak, which would have killed but for being turned off.[69]
Correlation doesn’t prove causation, and epidemiological findings prove
nothing. Epidemiology is the study of all the elements contributing to
the occurrence or non-occurrence of a disease in a population. Proof of
any nutritional theory of SIDS would require:
(1) Collection of tissue samples from SIDS babies and from infants who
died of known causes.
(2) Consistently lower iodine (or thiamine, etc.) would have to be found
in the SIDS autopsies.
(3) A mechanism would have to be proposed and supported.
(4) Most difficult: in light of Peter Mitchell’s findings given earlier,
crib death risk caused by such nutrient deficiency would have to be consistently
twice as high in a mother’s second baby and twice as high again for her
third baby. In fact, most families maintain their nutritional practices
about constant throughout their child-rearing years.
(5) And the reason for insufficiency of a nutrient to cause such upward
steps in risk would have to be proposed and supported.
Poor nutrition tends to accompany low-income status, and that leads
to re-use of fungus-infected bedding. In California, SIDS incidence in
1972 ranged from 0.5l among Chinese and Japanese Americans who consume
iodine-rich seaweed, to 5.93 among Native Americans who ingest little iodine.[70]
[71] One could reason that the incomes of the Oriental Americans were much
higher than the Native Americans’ and that they therefore didn’t resort
to used baby mattresses.
But then, a U.S. map of SIDS mortality in 1984 showed incidence at least
twice as high in the Pacific Northwest as in California and the Pacific
Southwest.[72] That would be difficult to explain on the basis of family
incomes. Harold Foster, PhD, shows that areas of low selenium, including
the Northwest, are areas of high SIDS risk. There still is no mechanism
of killing.
So the explanation advanced by Mr. Richardson, Dr. Sprott, and Mr. Peter
Mitchell, and our enlargement of the theory do not clarify everything.
But they may explain over 95 percent of crib deaths.
There can be exceptions:
(1) Iron overload can “literally tear apart” babies, both of whose parents
have hemochromatosis.[73] [74] Disease organisms and cancer microbes feed
on iron, a potent catalyst for generation of extremely damaging free radicals--and
starve without it.[75] And so iron-heavy infant formulas and iron drops
can cause truly sudden death in event of botulism, which might not otherwise
be serious.[76] [77] High tissue iron concentrations may also lower resistance
to fever and gas-promoting infection in babies not protected against the
gases, and raise susceptibility to tissue damage throughout life.[78] This
mechanism of killing isn’t related directly to the nutrient or toxin.
(2) Microwave warming of breast milk, baby formula and baby food weakens
their infection-protective features, adversely affects the blood,[79] [80]
and could make baby more susceptible to a given level of toxic gases. Microwaving
also generates free radicals.[81] Resulting fevers would increase concentration
of toxic gases.
(3) Excess sodium or unusually high concentrations of poorly absorbed
manufactured thiamine, folic acid and vitamin B12[82] [83] have been found
in crib death autopsies. High lead levels have been reported in blood.[84]
BabeSafe® or proper mattress wrapping would appear to circumvent each
of these possible mechanisms.
Smoking
Smoke residues from American cigarettes are “laced with sugar and dupe
the gut into expecting food, triggering insulin release.”[85] (Japanese
and South African cigarettes, among others, do not contain sugar and toxic
additives.[86] [87] The late, renowned internist and cardiologist Moses
M. Suzman, MD, of Johannesburg confirmed the statement about South African
cigarettes and said that South African blacks, despite heavily smoking
unfiltered cigarettes, do not develop lung cancer.[88]) The smoke residues
inactivate certain enzymes and induce peroxidation (formation of excess
hydrogen peroxide) in the baby’s blood plasma,[89] or the cadmium in cigarette
smoke catalyzes oxidation in the babies’ lung tissue when there is a deficiency
of vitamin E and selenium.[90] Either mechanism makes babies more susceptible
to gaseous death if the mattress is generating the gases.[91] [92]
Maternal smoking associates itself with higher SIDS risk in not properly
protected shared beds: relative risk was 9.25 (95% confidence intervals
2.31 to 34.02).[93] (Babies of mothers who smoked were over nine times
likelier to be victims of SIDS than those of nonsmoking mothers. Confidence
intervals are a statistical refinement.) BabeSafe® cannot protect babies
against other damage inflicted by cigarette smoke.
In Britain, smoking was much more common in the 1930s-1940s than now.
But crib death was virtually non-existent, because fire retardant chemicals
weren’t added to mattresses until after the war. In Russia and Yugoslavia,
despite heavy parental smoking SIDS scarcely exists. Rubber sheeting and
cotton mattresses do not permit toxic gases to form and reach the baby.[94]
Also, Russian parents have long swaddled babies heavily to keep them immobile,
while they go off to farm or factory.[95] Such wrapping would increase
SIDS risk through gas generation if the babies were exposed to it (see
below).
The apparent link between smoking and SIDS is, however, in large part
simply an association. Crib death has a strong socio-economic bias and
so does the incidence of smoking. There is little if any cause-and-effect
association. Smoking is more prevalent in lower socio-economic groups,
and these people are also more likely to use old, pre-used mattresses.
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