Like several other outlets, Channel Nine News
reported
the story of Ben Hammond, a Western Australian father of five, who came
down with a debilitating episode of what is purported to be
ADEM after a
whooping cough booster. Now the
Northern Rivers Vaccination Supporters have written an
Open Letter to Channel Nine, which I am reposting here with kind permission, since it is, in contrast to Channel Nine's piece, evidence based and factual and important.
AN OPEN LETTER REGARDING A RECENT CHANNEL NINE NEWS STORY, THEIR
INACCURATE PORTRAYAL OF VACCINE RISK, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ADULT
WHOOPING COUGH BOOSTER.
A news story that aired nationally on 2nd
and 3rd June, 2014 on the Channel Nine News network and the Today Show
was inaccurate and grossly irresponsible.
The story featured
Perth father Ben Hammond, who received a Diptheria/Tetanus/Pertussis
booster, and became seriously ill eleven days afterwards. Ben’s
condition was said to be ADEM (Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis), a
rare auto immune condition. This disease lead to Ben becoming
quadriplegic for several months.
First of all, we wish to express
our sorrow and sympathy for everything this man and his family have
been through. By all accounts they have suffered a great deal
physically, emotionally, and financially.
We are not writing to
challenge or diminish what has happened to the Hammonds. This family
deserves the support and generosity of the public to help them get back
on their feet. We support a full investigation into the cause of his
illness, so there is transparency on the facts of whether the vaccine
caused it and the risks.
However the story breaches the Australian Communications and Media Authority Code of Practice (1):
• Section 4.3.1: The article was not factual or accurate and did not represent
viewpoints fairly. It did not state:
o How rarely, if ever, it has been shown that ADEM can be
caused by vaccination
o Any evidence to support this allegation
o Why adults require the Whooping Cough (pertussis)
booster
o The relative risk to babies of whooping cough, versus
the risk of the alleged vaccine reaction
• Section 4.3.2: It could cause public panic about vaccines and place
newborn babies at risk
Why adults require Whooping cough boosters:
The Hammonds were offered a free booster during the time that Australia
was experiencing the world’s largest Whooping Cough epidemic. This
peaked at 38,500 cases in 2011. In response to thousands of babies being
hospitalised and tragically over ten babies dying nationally, State
governments have distributed millions of doses of the vaccine for free
to new parents since 2009. Without the program, the number of grieving
families would have been significantly higher.
Our group includes
families whose babies have died from Whooping Cough, and who have
worked hard to raise awareness of the need for adult boosters. This has
saved lives, particularly of vulnerable premature babies.
Adults
need a booster because of waning immunity, this happens both after the
vaccine, and following ‘natural’ infection. Recent research has shown
that this can occur as quickly as after four years(2). Unfortunately,
nationally, less that 12% of adults have had a Whooping Cough booster
(3). This means if there is an outbreak, an adult is susceptible to
catching the disease, and passing it on to others. For most adults, this
causes an irritating coughing illness that can last for months and lead
to rib fractures and pneumonia; in young infants it can be deadly.
Babies cannot have their first dose of protective vaccine until they are
6 weeks to 2 months old, so these very young babies must rely on adults
being up-to-date with their boosters to be protected (4).
Risk of whooping cough to babies:
The story did not state the relative risk of acquiring ADEM after a
vaccination, when compared to the risk of a baby catching whooping
cough.
• Nearly all babies that catch whooping cough require care in hospital.
• It tragically proves fatal in 1 in 200 who catch it (5).
• There is no cure for whooping cough. Babies face months of disease,
and once it takes hold, the only treatment is supportive, with oxygen,
and for critical cases, ventilation and ECMO (life support that, at
best, also carries a very high mortality) (6).
Thankfully new
research has shown that if a woman gets vaccinated when pregnant, this
may halve the risk of the baby catching whooping cough (7). However, we
are concerned your program will negatively impact on the uptake of this
vital public health measure.
The facts about ADEM:
The
news story should have featured a medical expert, to provide some facts
about ADEM. Without the context of how rarely ADEM occurs after a
vaccination, this omission could greatly damage public confidence in the
vaccination program.
The alarmist headlines used such as
“Routine vaccination almost fatal” “Vaccine danger” “Man becomes
quadriplegic following routine vaccination” “One shot left him crippled”
“Destroyed his life” and “Vaccination nightmare” were not
counterbalanced with any information portraying the real-life risk of
developing ADEM. Instead, we were solely given the Hammonds' own
assertion of it’s cause.
ADEM may or may not be associated with
some vaccines. We know that it occurs at such an extremely low rate it
is impossible to determine causality with any scientific accuracy.
Indeed it is so rare the risk is something like 8 out of 1 million risk
to the general population. Out of those cases, less than 5% follow
immunisation, and it is much more likely to follow infection by one of
the vaccine preventable diseases (8). There are many common and
not-so-common bacteria and viruses that induce ADEM at much higher rates
than those associated with vaccination.
The only vaccine proven
to induce ADEM is the Semple form of the rabies vaccine. Other vaccines
have all been implicated, most commonly the MMR vaccine, but the
majority of the studies that correlate vaccination with ADEM onset use
small samples or case studies (because there are so few cases to begin
with). Large scale epidemiological studies have not shown an increased
risk of ADEM following vaccination.
Also misleading was the
implication Mr Hammond had “no immune system" and “no kidney or liver
function” from the vaccine. ADEM should not cause organ dysfunction or
immune suppression (although medication used to treat it can), and the
paralysis it causes is usually temporary.
We take vaccine safety
and transparency about that safety very seriously, and support the
Hammond's use of the media to highlight the rare possibility of adverse
vaccine reactions. The family deserves respect, and privacy, and we
understand their need for financial assistance. We hope Ben’s case
highlights the importance of a no-fault vaccine injury compensation
program in Australia, for when adverse reactions to vaccines do occur.
However, unnecessarily scaring people away from vaccination programs
such as against whooping cough could deter adults from having a booster,
and place vulnerable newborns at high risk. News reports regarding
vaccination should be clear and balanced. They need to present the
relative risks of an adverse reaction to a vaccine when compared with
the risks from vaccine preventable diseases. The media’s role in public
perception of healthcare, risk of disease, and vaccine safety should
not be underestimated, nor the responsibility taken lightly.
1: http://tinyurl.com/ltbyrl4
2:
Wendelboe, A. M., Van Rie, A., Salmaso, S., & Englund, J. A.
(2005). Duration of immunity against pertussis after natural infection
or vaccination. The Pediatric infectious disease journal, 24(5), S58-S61
3: http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=10737418409
4: http://www.chainofprotection.org/adultimmunisation
5: http://tinyurl.com/pwfthsw
6: http://tinyurl.com/msyg6pg
7: http://tinyurl.com/k3rp7t3
8:
Huynh, W., Cordato, D. J., Kehdi, E., Masters, L. T., & Dedousis,
C. (2008). Post-vaccination encephalomyelitis: literature review and
illustrative case. Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, 15(12), 1315-1322.
image credit nbcnews
image credit nbcnews