UK Recalls Polio Vaccine Over 'Mad Cow' Fears

Britain's health service, the Medicines Control Agency, (MCA), has recalled stocks of an oral polio vaccine, due to the fact that they may contain banned cattle products, which are feared to be contaminated with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), better known as "mad cow" disease.

• The government said the measures were precautionary, and that the risks to children who had already received doses of the vaccine were tiny.

• The vaccine, manufactured until September by Medeva, is taken orally by children through drops on sugar cubes.

• The recall is being prompted because it was discovered that the vaccine contains UK-based bovine (cow) materials, breaching European guidelines set out in 1999.

• The recalled vaccine has been in production since 1989, with Medeva taking over the manufacture in 1991.

The UK government has admitted a link between BSE in cattle and new-variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans, which is a similar, fatal brain-wasting disease for which there is no cure.

Chief Medical Officer, Professor Liam Donaldson said that "The vaccine will be recalled immediately and replaced with a vaccine from another manufacturer which meets all safety requirements."

Britain's MCA criticized the vaccine's manufacturers for failing to keep the government informed.

Dr. Mercola's Comment:
Yet another problem to worry about with vaccines. A great example of the incredible lack of attention to safety issues that all vaccines have problems with. If you have not yet concluded that vaccines are something most of us should avoid I would carefully review the evidence provided by the vaccine links below.

http://www.vaccineinfo.net
http://www.vaccination.inoz.com

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