Conspiracy Virus that Kills

 People used to believe that earth was the center of the universe and sun revolved around it. Those at the time who did not concur with this belief were declared heretics, tortured and burned alive. Over time we have come to let go of many outdated notions and no longer have a habit of setting our neighbors on fire if they happen to have an opinion that differs from ours, usually. There is a slight residue of that ancient mentality when it comes to understanding the complex biochemical organism that is a human being. Whether it is due to a strong belief in intelligent design or simply collective memory loss of how helpless humans can be in the face of nature, there is a worrying trend of abandoning the weapons that our ancestors wish they had. Increasing amounts of young parents, who are probably too young to remember kids in iron lungs suffering from polio, are deciding against vaccinating their own kids from the horrific diseases that are vaccine preventable. What is even more shocking is that it tends to happen in countries that have historically benefited the most from the development of medical science and responsible socio-political systems. Taking for granted relatively recently acquired security from mass killer bugs, young parents do not seem to recognize how damaging viruses can be.

One fact that for some might take a while to wrap their heads around, is that viruses, bacteria and microbes are living organisms. They might not have arms and legs, talk, walk or think, but if we suppose that Darwin was right, we can safely assume that they are also, just like humans, fighting for survival. They multiply at a much faster pace than humans reproduce, and there is countless number of them. As a species, humans have adapted to living with all sorts of visible and invisible stuff floating around, but on occasion there comes along a virus or bacteria that is simply not compatible with the human immune system. The virus itself does not have a grand plan to mass murder everyone that comes into contact with it (we hope), however because it is foreign to the humans’ immune system the effect on person’s health and well being can be catastrophic.

The first vaccine that proved capable of preventing an epidemic was developed against small-pox back in the late 18^th century. The philosophy behind it was relatively simple: by introducing the human immune system to a particular virus in a small dose, thereby allowing the system to comprehend it and figure out a defense mechanism against the virus which can be used in the future, should the immune system encounter the virus again. The progress in immune technology has been immense since then. Recently licensed HPV vaccine for instance, by immunizing against human papilloma virus types 6, 11, 16 and 18 (most widely sexually transmitted infection) prevents 70% of cervical cancers in women. The third generation vaccines also called DNA vaccines are currently undergoing pre-clinical trials. If successful we could see preventive vaccines against Alzheimer’s, herpes and a whole range of other unpleasant conditions that affect millions of people around the world. Hard not to believe in medical science after that.

Now lets go back to the anti-vaccine conspiracy theory individuals who choose not to vaccinate their kids. No, we do not propose to burn them alive. Instead we would like to investigate some predominantly stated reasons for choosing not to vaccinate.

Time and again articles that link vaccination to autism surface on the internet. We do feel for the parents who had the misfortune of having their kids diagnosed with autism, it surely is a great struggle for the family. After Andrew Wakefield’s statement that MMR vaccine causes autism, which was based on falsified research, there have been numerous studies done that investigate that claim. Many man hours and even more dollars have been spent to find the link between vaccination and autism and none were found.

From an emotional perspective, it is much easier to either find hope in, or simply to blame something tangible like the supposed connection between the MMR vaccine and autism, as it provides a focal point for frustrations and wishes for cures. In that regard internet in the age of information has simultaneously been the greatest blessing and a curse, as there’s still so much ‘proof’ still supporting the vaccine-autism link. At this point in time any Tom, Dick or Harry could type out an argument (pro or against vaccination for instance) and their argument could have as much reach and persuasive power as scientific research and the experience of medical professionals over several decades. Long gone are the days when in the family of 12 children only 5 made it into adulthood; there are no vivid examples or memories of children helplessly gasping for air while dying of measles in many modernized countries. Has the advancement in science and technology blinded us to how fragile we still are?

The impact of the anti-vaccinationists on public health is shocking. For example 2000 confirmed cases of measles in the UK over 2 years (more than over a previous decade combined) occurred among children whose parents decided against the MMR vaccine due to the fear of autism. Similar situations occurred in the US, where one unvaccinated boy passed on measles to other 137 unvaccinated children causing an epidemic. The State of California is seeing a terrifying return of vaccine preventable diseases that were though to have been eradicated.

The basic logic behind the mass vaccination of a population is referred to as “community immunity” or “herd immunity”; by minimizing the number of individuals susceptible to a particular virus the likelihood of an outbreak or an epidemic in the community remains low. Viruses are ultimately self-limiting – the infected person either recovers or dies. The main reason why we haven’t seen unvaccinated people dying right left and center is because the level of herd immunity is still high enough to prevent anything seriously tragic from happening like an outbreak of epidemic proportions.

Another common conspiracy theory revolves around vaccines as population growth control. In 2003 Ibrahim Datti Ahmed, a president of Nigeria’s Supreme Council of Sharia Law claimed that polio vaccines were laced with a drug that causes infertility (by the USA of course) with an agenda to slow the birth rate of Nigerian people. In a country where people are typically economically impaired and where the government feels insecure about its domestic support and international position this conspiracy theory flourished, and a polio outbreak followed soon after. Before long the Government realized the consequences of the propaganda lie and soon dropped the anti-vaccine program.

Whether it is a mother who can not come to grips with her child’s diagnosed condition, a government leader trying to find a control tactic through imaginary enemies and weapons or individuals who are convinced that humans are nature’s superior beings – they all have something in common. Namely the passion and conviction with which they spread a view, just like a virus, that has potentially irreversible consequences for those they are supposedly looking out for and care for the most. Polio, if contracted, can lead to disability, muscle paralysis and deformities in the legs, ankles and hips. Complications from mumps can leave boys sterile, deafness in not uncommon as a result of permanent nerve damage. Measles may lead to serious eye disorders as well as nervous system problems.

For the sake of a balanced argument, fine-tuning the immune system doesn’t always go as well as planned. Pandemrix, a H1N1 flu vaccine developed by GlaxoSmithKline is currently under investigation. After numerous cases of narcolepsy reported by the recipients of the vaccine, the European Medical Agency as of mid 2011 has advised against it. It was shown that those who received the vaccine were 6-13 times more likely to develop narcolepsy. The link between the condition and the vaccine has not been found, and representatives of the pharmaceutical company assure that the benefits of the vaccine largely surpass the risks.

It is important to point out the problems often encountered in the vaccine development process, in particular the issues that concern funding, investment and regulations around the development of vaccines. Up until about 1970’s, the procedure(development and distribution) was predominantly a governmental matter. The onset of postmodernist culture (often linked to departure from the international gold standard and rapid increase of the political and economical power of corporations) saw a new trend where healthcare matters such as medication, vaccine and medical device manufacturing and development have largely been taken over by commercial interests. The rationale being that this would provide an environment for healthy competition thus raising productivity and the quality of the healthcare products.

While it might have worked in certain areas, when it comes to development of vaccines the reality is that due to the lengthy development period and very strict yet understandable regulations around retention and distribution, often times pharmaceutical companies find it not profitable enough to continue on with the development or production of vaccines. For examples Pfeizer terminated its production of influenza vaccine Fluogen back in 1998 due to the above mentioned hurdles. Similarly the ongoing developments of two most awaited vaccines against cancer and AIDS are often running into barriers due to funding. As businesses aren’t typically interested in the greater good without a profit motive and no politician short of a dictator will be in power long enough to see the political pay-off, many potential vaccines and avenues of research often languish in development because of funding problems. At this point we should mention the recent news regarding the new Malaria vaccine. After development of the vaccine by GlaxoSmithKline came to a halt due to profitability issues, $200 million poured in by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation helped to revive the research. The vaccine is currently being tested, showing 50% drop in risk of infection after vaccination.

Human organisms while very similar are rarely identical. It is very difficult to foresee different micro variations in every person in a reaction to a particular vaccine, rather vaccines are designed as blanket prevention. One in a million might die from an unforeseen side-effect, and it is very sad. However, in the case of contracting that specific disease the person may have died anyway, but as a carrier of a virus could have infected many more. From the perspective of health in the broader human population, it is a minor cost. The Spanish flu pandemic in the early 20^th century took over 50 million lives world wide in the span of a year. There was no vaccine, people died in a horrible manner within hours of contracting a virus. As outlined above, problems with vaccines are not widespread, and tend to be limited to adverse reactions in a tiny fraction of humans or very rarely to production and distribution errors.

Thus before embarking the bandwagon of natural medicine only, afraid of contaminating a young body with chemicals and other unnatural components, believing that vitamin C cures all, think about the reason why so much time and resources have been spent to research and produce vaccines. They might not be absolutely safe in every single case (neither is surgery or chemotherapy), but they have been protecting us from far greater threats, in terms of both severity and size, to the health and well being of humanity as a whole.