The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently published a fact sheet on its website, which it also quickly removed, outlining the contamination of the polio vaccine with a known cancer virus, SV40.
SV40 (Simian virus 40) is a polyomavirus found in some species of monkey, and was discovered in 1960. Soon after its discovery, SV40 was found in polio vaccines, which were administered to nearly 100 million Americans between 1955 and 1963. Fortunately, not all lots were affected, though the agency estimates that between 10 and 30 Americans could have received an SV40-contaminated vaccine.
SV40 is a DNA virus that recent research suggests causes cancer and tumors by suppressing the transcriptional properties of tumor-suppressing genes. When these genes mutate they fail to control cancerous cell proliferation, which leads to cancer development.
An Assistant Professor of Pathology at Loyola University recently isolated particles of SV40 in the lung cancer mesothelioma and various bone cancers, such as osteosarcoma. He found the SV40 virus to be present in about 60% of mesotheliomas, 33% of osteosarcomas, and 40% of other bone cancers.
Some may be reminded of the hepatitis B vaccine that spread HIV/AIDS throughout the country in the early 1970s. That vaccine, produced by Merck & Co., was contaminated for two years (1972-74), until it was acknowledged. Many experts and authorities now admit that much, even possibly most, of cancer diagnoses in the world came from polio and hepatitis B vaccines that were produced from monkeys and chimps.
Mesothelioma used to be exclusively associated with exposure to asbestos, a natural fiber and known carcinogen commonly used in building products, however, recent research suggests that up to half of all mesotheliomas may be caused by SV40.
Asbestos was banned in the late 1970s after its cancer-causing properties were revealed, although diagnoses remain steady throughout the country. Not surprisingly, researchers have noticed SV40 presence in a variety of other tumors, including brain and bone cancers, which more and more people are suffering from it every year.
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SV40 contaminated affected both the oral and injectable vaccine produced between 1955 and 1961 by American Home Products, which operated under the name Lederle. Further exasperating the issue, it was later found that the technique practiced to inactivate the polio virus in the injectable vaccine, formaldehyde, did not reliably kill SV40.
In 2011 the federal government added formaldehyde to its list of known human carcinogens, however the chemical is still found in nearly all common vaccines. Formaldehyde is actually ranked as one of the most dangerous and toxic compounds to human health and natural ecosystems.
The polio vaccine was invented in 1952 from minced kidney cells of rhesus monkeys, and accepted for testing nationwide in 1954. Similarly to the smallpox vaccine, the polio treatment introduced a small amount of the virus into the body, which then develops the necessary antibodies to fight off more powerful strains. By 1959, about 90 countries were using the vaccine.
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Throughout the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s, rates of pediatric cancer (as well as aforementioned rates of brain and bone cancer) continued to climb. In 2002, the Institute of Medicine’s Immunization Safety Review Committee recommended that the public continue to pay attention to this issue, through policy analysis, increased communication, and targeted biological research.
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The National Academy of Sciences recently conducted a study at the request of the CDC, which concluded that there is moderate biological evidence that SV40 exposure could cause cancer in humans under natural conditions. Its final report stated that the association between SV40 exposure through the polio vaccine and cancer development was significant.
Mesothelioma lawyers at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm will continue to report on developments, reports and studies made in this area, as experts, scientists and researchers continue to discover conclusive evidence. If you or a loved one developed mesothelioma or lung cancer from exposure to asbestos or the polio vaccine, you may be entitled to significant compensation for past and future medical bills, time away from work, emotional distress, and pain and suffering.
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