Dr. Joseph Mercola
New Search Engine Uncovers Reported Vaccine Side Effects
Thu Apr 3 02:08:03 2003
208.152.73.94

New Search Engine Uncovers Reported Vaccine Side Effects
http://mercola.com/2003/apr/2/vaccine_database.htm

Since 1990, the U.S. government has collected many thousands of reports of damage caused by vaccines. This database, called the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), is available for anyone to download. However, the data available from the government is difficult to use for these reasons:

* It is broken up into separate databases for each year.
* Each year's data is split into two different files: one with the details of the case, and another with specific information about the vaccinations that were given.
* The data is in raw form, and must be imported into a real database system before any analysis can be done.
* There are some formatting errors in these files.

The site organizes the government's VAERS data and makes it available for online searching. Before using this data, please read the government's warning about the data.

This data covers the period of time from the start of the program in 1990 to September 30, 2002.

The database is available at:

http://www.medalerts.org/vaersdb/
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http://www.shsu.edu/~bio_tjc/lecture4-5.htm

Parasitic Amoebae

¨Family Endamoebidae: digestive system parasites or commensals of arthropods and vertebrates

·Distinction between parasites and commensals is important

·There are three genera of importance in humans and domestic animals

§Entamoeba

§Endolimax

§Iodamoeba

¨Two life cycle stages

·Trophozoite = the vegetative stage

·Cyst = resistant stage

¨Transmission and life cycles

·Direct life cycle

·Transmission is via cysts

·Reservoir hosts usually involved include dogs, cats, pigs, monkeys and wild game

·Reproduction is through binary fission

¨Genus Entamoeba—structure

·Vesicular nucleus with an endosome at or near the center

·Chromatin granules beaded at periphery of nucleus

·Most with chromatoidal bars in the cyst stage

¨Entamoeba histolytica

·Trophozoite structure

·Cyst structure

¨E. histolytica—course of infection, biology, life cycle

·Infection occurs when infective cysts are ingested

·Alkalinity of small intestine stimulates excystation

·Trophs pass to large intestine and invade mucosal crypts and multiply by binary fission

·Initially trophs feed on starch and mucosal secretions

·Eventually they begin hydrolyzing mucosal cells

·Some trophs move posteriorally with fecal matter

·Mature cysts remain viable and infective for at least 12 days (moist, cool environment)

·Life cycle complete when infective cysts are ingested

¨Pathology of E. histolytica infection

·In large intestine lesions are a characteristic deep, flask-shaped ulcer

·In other body regions

§Lesions can occur in nearly every body organ

§Hepatic (liver) amebiasis is the most common

§Pulmonary amebiasis

·Host immune response may be impaired by ameba secretory products

¨Symptoms of E. histolytica infection vary greatly

·Light infections are usually asymptomatic (importance to epidemiology)

·Moderate infections—disease usually develops slowly

§Intermittent diarrhea, cramps, vomiting and general malaise

§May mimic symptoms of appendicitis

§Amebic diarrhea = 4-6 loose stools/day marked by abdominal discomfort

·Heavy infections—amebic dysentery (15-20 bloody, loose stools/day)

§Marked by cramping and low grade fever

·Symptoms in other organs consistent with those produced by any lesion of that organ

¨Diagnosis and treatment of E. histolytica infection

·Examination of fecal material for presence of cysts and/or trophs

·E. histolytica vs. E. dispar

·Diagnosis of extraintestinal infections requires X-ray or serological techniques

·Metronidazole (Flagyl) is drug of choice

¨Epidemiology of E. histolytica infection

·E. histolytica is world wide in distribution

·Clinical amebiasis is most prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions

·Why would prevalence be higher in the tropics????

·Use of human waste as fertilizer (night soil)—practiced in much of the world

·Role of asymptomatic infections???

·Reservoir hosts

¨Nonpathogenic intestinal amoebae

·E. hartmani looks like E. histolytica but is smaller

·E. dispar morphologically identical to E. histolytica but is biochemically distinct

·Entamoeba coli—similar in size to E. histolytica; main difference is in nuclei

·Endolimax nana and Iodamoeba buetschlii

¨Free living amoebae as opportunistic parasites

·Order Schizopyrenida—aerobic inhabitants of soil and water

·Most with flagellated and amoeboid stages

·Naegleria fowleri—cause of primary amebic menigoencephalitis

§Are aquatic and proliferate rapidly as water temperature rises

§How people get infected

§Amebas migrate along olfactory nerves into cranium

§Death occurs from brain destruction

§Pathology and symptoms

·Inflammation of meniges and necrosis of nerve tissue

·Nausea, fever, vomiting, stiff neck and headache (<1 week)

·Followed by coma and death

§Diagnosis and treatment

·Acanthamoeba spp.

§These amoebae lack a flagellated forms

§Easily distinguished from N. fowleri because they have spiny pseudopods

§Infection of immunosuppressed people—chronic infection of skin or central nervous system

§Infection of immunocompetent people is usually in the eye

·Corneal ulcers and keratitis

·Most cases occur soft contact lens wearers

·Ketoconazole, miconazole or propamidine