Autism

Autism is mainly an issue in that it has recently taken on epidemic proportions. One source quotes the U.S. Federal Government as saying the autism rate is now one in 166.

Many parents and a minority of medical professionals believe there is a strong link between autism and vaccinations, possibly due to thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative used in the manufacture of vaccines during the 1990s and possibly earlier (it appears that its use began to be phased out in 1999, though it will be at least 2006 before existing thimerosal-bearing stocks are used up or reach their expiration date).

There is now some strong circumstantial evidence to indicate that there may be something to this theory, or at the very least to suggest possible avenues of inquiry, in that autism among the Amish (who generally do not use vaccines) is reportedly 1 in 15,000.

The medical community in general, however, seems strongly resistant to the idea that vaccines might be causing the problem, and even resistant to the idea of looking more closely at the Amish population for clues as to what might actually be behind the autism epidemic.

Links

• ScienceDaily articles by Dan Olmsted:
  • One in 15,000 Amish: source of the figure used above
  • Absence of Evidence: more specifics about the Amish data
  • The Amish Elephant: how some medical professionals respond
• The Wikipedia article has some more details about the controversy