Hepatitis B vaccine and ME/CFS - US court case

[charles shepherd]

Thomas - Yes, I am aware of the ASIA syndrome:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20708902

and here:

http://lup.sagepub.com/content/21/2/118.full

and mentioned the link to ME/CFS during the interview I gave to the BBC this week

But I have not been in contact with Professor Schoenfield

I'm afraid I am not sufficiently informed about the ASIA syndrome to be able to state how ASIA syndrome symptomatology differs from ME/CFS symptomatology

 

[Kati]

Having had a clinical and research interest in the role of vaccines in triggering ME/CFS, or exacerbating pre-existing ME/CFS, hepatitis B vaccine in health workers in particular, dating back many years I now have information on a considerable number of cases - probably more than any other doc here in the UK

What Mij says is relevant because I have a small number of people with ME/CFS who give a history of feeling unwell after the first HB vaccination (but nothing too serious), and have then gone on to predate the onset of their ME/CFS symptoms to the second or third dose. In some instances they had been persuaded/co-erced to carry on with the course (for occupational health reasons) and had also been reassured by a health professional that while HBV can cause minor side-effects it would not cause serious side-effects

It is possible that HBV was therefore given to someone who had a low level infection (and vaccines should not normally be given if there is an infection) or the mild reaction to the first reaction was an indicator that something more serious was going to happen following the second or third infection

For the vast majority of people HBV is a safe and very effective way of providing protection against a potentially life threatening liver disease. I would not want to dissuade anyone who is healthy from having it (including members of my own family)

But HBV does appear to play a very disproportionate role in triggering ME/CFS - suggesting that there is something rather unusual about either the vaccine or one of its additives (which used to include thiomersil in some HBV products)

More questions than answers…….

@charles shepherd, Dr Byron Hyde had a particular interest in HepB vaccination as it relates to ME. Just a FYi in case you might be interested.

 

[charles shepherd]

@charles shepherd, Dr Byron Hyde had a particular interest in HepB vaccination as it relates to ME. Just a FYi in case you might be interested.

Thanks

Yes, I know Byron and our interest in HBV and ME/CFS runs in parallel

As you may know a (very poorly designed) report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal on the possible role of HBV in ME/CFS from Canada, which dismissed the link, is often used to dismiss any such link with ME/CFS

Canadian report:

http://lup.sagepub.com/content/21/2/118.full

 

[Thomas]

Thomas - Yes, I am aware of the ASIA syndrome:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20708902

and here:

http://lup.sagepub.com/content/21/2/118.full

and mentioned the link to ME/CFS during the interview I gave to the BBC this week

But I have not been in contact with Professor Schoenfield

I'm afraid I am not sufficiently informed about the ASIA syndrome to be able to state how ASIA syndrome symptomatology differs from ME/CFS symptomatology

Thank you. I was in contact with Professor Schoenfeld's team early in 2013 and they informed that they have specific criteria including autoantibody presentations that may differ from ME. But they admitted to not knowing much about ME. I lost contact with them as my condition deteriorated.

If you ever learn more about this syndrome or speak to Prof Schoenfeld and can let the ME community here know, I would greatly appreciate it, as I'm sure many other would.

Yes, I know Byron and our interest in HBV runs in parallel

As you may know a (very poorly designed) report on the possible role of HBV in ME/CFS from Canada, which dismissed the link, is often used to dismiss any such link with ME/CFS

Dr. Hyde has been my ME doctor since 2012. He's a wonderful person and we get along great. As you know, he shares your view and interest on this subject. Actually, the first question he asked me when I called him was if I got sick after a HBV.

 

[Kati]

Thanks

Yes, I know Byron and our interest in HBV and ME/CFS runs in parallel

As you may know a (very poorly designed) report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal on the possible role of HBV in ME/CFS from Canada, which dismissed the link, is often used to dismiss any such link with ME/CFS

Canadian report:

http://lup.sagepub.com/content/21/2/118.full

Charles, i wasn't aware of the report from the CMA but I am not surprised one bit.

By the way, the link you have attached to this post relates to ASIA syndrome, and i
Was wondering if it was a mistake?

 

[picante]

But HBV does appear to play a very disproportionate role in triggering ME/CFS - suggesting that there is something rather unusual about either the vaccine or one of its additives (which used to include thiomersil in some HBV products)

Or a third possibility: unidentified viral DNA in the vaccine.

This comes to mind because of a number of articles linking HIV to the Hep-B vaccine experiments of the 1970s in the US and Africa. (For example, http://www.originofaids.com/articles/early.htm) Perhaps there is yet another virus still lurking in it.

 

[Rvanson]

If the miniscule amount of weakened hep B in the vax caused someone to crash, the vastly (billions) of times larger amount from catching the disease would have been much worse.

This is why I took a risk and got the Herpes Zoster (Shingles) vaccination. I have seen what it does to people who get
Shingles and I dont want that on top of my CFS/ME. So far no side-effects, and I did have chicken-pox as a child.

That said, I will never get any flu shot. I have heard of too many people becoming ill from those vaccinations.

 

[picante]

If the miniscule amount of weakened hep B in the vax caused someone to crash, the vastly (billions) of times larger amount from catching the disease would have been much worse.

I'm not sure this is a valid assumption. People crash from various kinds of vaccines, and ME/CFS is a neuro-immune illness. All vaccines contain immune-stimulating neurotoxins.

And how likely is it that any of us would catch Hep B in the first place? Most of us had a healthy immune system at some point. This really makes the vaccine a crap shoot, in my view.

What I wonder is whether reactions to the vaccine changed in 1990. That's when they stopped using virus taken from human blood:

The pooled blood was subjected to multiple steps to inactive the viral particles that included formaldehyde and heat treatment (or “pasteurization”). Merck Pharmaceuticals manufactured thisplasma vaccine as "Heptavax," which was the first commercial hepatitis B virus vaccine. The use of this vaccine was discontinued in 1990 and it is no longer available in the U.S.

http://www.hepb.org/professionals/hepatitis_b_vaccine.htm

That's when they started using genetically engineered Hep B virus in the vaccine. It no longer contained anything from human blood, according to the site linked above.

 

[picante]

This is why I took a risk and got the Herpes Zoster (Shingles) vaccination. I have seen what it does to people who get
Shingles and I dont want that on top of my CFS/ME. So far no side-effects, and I did have chicken-pox as a child.

I got shingles in 2012. The PA I saw at Urgent Care put me on Acyclovir immediately; she said we didn't have time to wait for test results. Thanks to that, I had no lasting nerve damage. (It was on the left side of my face -- initial symptoms were toothache on that side, but I couldn't pinpoint which tooth.) The antiviral also made my ME/CFS symptoms better for a while. It may have killed off some of the EBV running around in there.

 

[Fat Viking]

Hepatitis B vaccine and CFS: US court case

Does anyone in America have any further information as to what is happening in the case below - where there was going to be a challenge in the the US Supreme Court to the decision by the US Court of Appeals to overturn the compensation award

You can email me at: meconnect@meassociation.org.uk

Thanks
Dr Charles Shepherd

Parents of Vaccine Injury Victim Petition Supreme Court to Decide Proper Standard for Victim Compensation
Back in 2001, ten-year-old Ilya Dobrydnev received a vaccination for hepatitis B. Following the vaccination, he experienced a fever, swollen lymph nodes, inflammation of his inner ear and ultimately severe loss of memory. Now an adult, Mr. Dobrydnev suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome.

Because of Mr. Dobrydnev’s injuries, his parents filed a claim in vaccine court, which is part of the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, a no-fault system designed to compensate vaccine injury victims and to limit the liability of vaccine manufacturers. The vaccine court awarded Mr. Dobrydnev’s parents $1 million, as well as annual payments for his ongoing medical care. The United States Department of Justice challenged the vaccine court’s decision, and the United States Court of Appeals overturned the award. Even though Mr. Dobrydnev’s parents presented experts to the vaccine court who opined that the hepatitis B vaccine caused Mr. Dobrydnev’s chronic fatigue syndrome, the court of appeals held that Mr. Dobrydnev’s case did not satisfy the standard for vaccine injury compensation.

As a result of the Court of Appeals decision, Mr. Dobrydnev’s parents have filed a petition with the United States Supreme Court, claiming that the Court of Appeals used the wrong standard for determining the proper amount of compensation for vaccine injury victims. The Supreme Court will now decide whether to consider the case. Please continue to follow our Blog for updates on vaccine injury cases.

The Wisconsin vaccine injury lawyers of Samster, Konkel & Safran, S.C. have helped many people receive compensation for vaccine injuries. Since the vaccine court was created in 1986, the court has awarded a total of $2.9 billion to approximately 3,900 vaccine injury victims. If you or someone you know has suffered a vaccine-related injury, contact us for a free online case evaluation.



http://www.skslawyers.com/injuryAttorneyNewsCases.asp?article=Parents of Vaccine Injury Victim Petition Supreme Court to Decide Proper Standard for Victim Compensation&aid=614&id=8

I think I found it, he lost the claim, is that what the below means? I have given the link to it as well

"The Court of Federal Claims erred by vacating the special master's findings under Althen factor 2. Because these findings demonstrate that petitioners have not met their burden under this factor, the final judgment of the Court of Federal Claims in favor of petitioners is reversed."
https://casetext.com/case/dobrydnev-v-secy-of-health-human-servs

 

[Fat Viking]

I have been researching Hep B vaccine for just under a year now because I had the Hep B vaccine and suffered serious adverse reactions (you can read more about that here http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?threads/please-help-me-out-with-this.48711/). From my research, there is no casual link that can be PROVED or DISPROVED between Hep B vaccine and disorders. If you induced a neurological or autoimmune disorders as a result of Hep B vaccine, then in Court you are most likely to WIN the claim, however if you induced a Rheumatic disorder as a result of Hep B vaccine, then in Court you are most likely to LOSE the claim. That's what I noticed from the case reports that I was able to find online (they were all American case reports though, I couldn't find any from the UK.)

"The VICP has reviewed 627 Hepatitis B vaccine lawsuits — 577 for injury, and 50 for death. As of June 1, 2012, they have awarded compensation in 210 cases and dismissed 353 cases."
https://www.schmidtlaw.com/hepatitis-b-vaccine-lawsuit/

"The VICP has reviewed a total of 48 Hepatitis A vaccine lawsuits, of which 46 were injury claims and 2 were claims for death. As of June 1, 2012, the VICP has compensated 12 cases and dismissed 14 cases."
https://www.schmidtlaw.com/hepatitis-a-vaccine-lawsuit/

As you can see there are more legal cases for Hep B vaccine then there is for Hep A vaccine.

Here are two citations that shows manifestations of Hep B vaccine:
Chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia following immunization with the hepatitis B vaccine: another angle of the 'autoimmune (auto-inflammatory) syndrome induced by adjuvants' (ASIA).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25427994

Autoimmunity following hepatitis B vaccine as part of the spectrum of 'Autoimmune (Auto-inflammatory) Syndrome induced by Adjuvants' (ASIA): analysis of 93 cases.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22235045

 

[Max80]

I have been researching Hep B vaccine for just under a year now because I had the Hep B vaccine and suffered serious adverse reactions (you can read more about that here http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?threads/please-help-me-out-with-this.48711/). From my research, there is no casual link that can be PROVED or DISPROVED between Hep B vaccine and disorders. If you induced a neurological or autoimmune disorders as a result of Hep B vaccine, then in Court you are most likely to WIN the claim, however if you induced a Rheumatic disorder as a result of Hep B vaccine, then in Court you are most likely to LOSE the claim. That's what I noticed from the case reports that I was able to find online (they were all American case reports though, I couldn't find any from the UK.)

I'm in the UK. I developed CFS/ME 6 weeks after a HepB vaccine. My symptoms were mild and intermittent for 4 years, and neither myself nor my doctor considered the vaccine as the cause. I then had a booster HepB vaccine and 10 weeks later my symptoms became severe and persistent. It was only in 6 months later that a doctor suggested CFS/ME (I didn't know anything about the illness and so didn't even suspect ME).

I was then diagnosed with CFS/ME by an NHS ME Clinic.

6 months later I read about an illness called Macrophagic Myofasciitis, a neuromuscular condition. It has been proven to be caused by Aluminium Hydroxide adjuvant that is present in some vaccines (including HepB). The symptoms are muscle pain which worsens after exertion, muscle weakness, chronic fatigue and cognitive dysfunction and most patients satisfy the criteria for CFS/ME. The onset of symptoms is delayed from the vaccination. Everything about the illness matched my situation, and sounds similar to yours. I spend most of the day lying down, as I have minimal muscle pain when doing nothing.

After seeing 4 NHS Neurologists, and none being willing to perform the required deltoid muscle biopsy to test for the illness, I went to Paris to have the muscle biopsy done. The results confirmed Macrophagic Myofasciitis.

From your situation, I would suggest that you read up on Macrophagic Myofasciitis to see if you think it is worthwhile investigating if you have the illness. There are lots of research papers on the web.

If you're interested in going to France for the muscle biopsy please let me know and I can provide the doctor's contact details and help you with the process. It's very easy to arrange (the staff at the hospital had good English skills), it took only 10 weeks from initial email enquiry to the Neurologist to having the procedure and the costs are very reasonable. The hospital quoted 350 Euros for the biopsy but the bill was only 47 Euros! I had spent far more travelling around the UK seeing NHS Neurologists without any success.

My GP forwarded the results to an NHS Neuropathologist in the UK who has experience of Macrophagic Myofasciitis (he has had at least one case) and he was happy to review the tests and confirm my diagnosis. So I have a confirmed diagnosis by an NHS consultant.

My written diagnosis is "Macrophagic Myofasciitis post-vaccine".

Neither the staff at the NHS ME clinic nor the ME Association suggested that I may have Macrophagic Myofasciitis, even though the symptoms are identical to CFS/ME. Anybody who develops CFS/ME after a vaccination containing Aluminium Hydroxide should look into Macrophagic Myofasciitis. Although, be aware that only 1 in 3 people who have the muscle biopsy actually have the illness.

 

[charles shepherd]

I'm in the UK. I developed CFS/ME 6 weeks after a HepB vaccine. My symptoms were mild and intermittent for 4 years, and neither myself nor my doctor considered the vaccine as the cause. I then had a booster HepB vaccine and 10 weeks later my symptoms became severe and persistent. It was only in 6 months later that a doctor suggested CFS/ME (I didn't know anything about the illness and so didn't even suspect ME).

I was then diagnosed with CFS/ME by an NHS ME Clinic.

6 months later I read about an illness called Macrophagic Myofasciitis, a neuromuscular condition. It has been proven to be caused by Aluminium Hydroxide adjuvant that is present in some vaccines (including HepB). The symptoms are muscle pain which worsens after exertion, muscle weakness, chronic fatigue and cognitive dysfunction and most patients satisfy the criteria for CFS/ME. The onset of symptoms is delayed from the vaccination. Everything about the illness matched my situation, and sounds similar to yours. I spend most of the day lying down, as I have minimal muscle pain when doing nothing.

After seeing 4 NHS Neurologists, and none being willing to perform the required deltoid muscle biopsy to test for the illness, I went to Paris to have the muscle biopsy done. The results confirmed Macrophagic Myofasciitis.

From your situation, I would suggest that you read up on Macrophagic Myofasciitis to see if you think it is worthwhile investigating if you have the illness. There are lots of research papers on the web.

If you're interested in going to France for the muscle biopsy please let me know and I can provide the doctor's contact details and help you with the process. It's very easy to arrange (the staff at the hospital had good English skills), it took only 10 weeks from initial email enquiry to the Neurologist to having the procedure and the costs are very reasonable. The hospital quoted 350 Euros for the biopsy but the bill was only 47 Euros! I had spent far more travelling around the UK seeing NHS Neurologists without any success.

My GP forwarded the results to an NHS Neuropathologist in the UK who has experience of Macrophagic Myofasciitis (he has had at least one case) and he was happy to review the tests and confirm my diagnosis. So I have a confirmed diagnosis by an NHS consultant.

My written diagnosis is "Macrophagic Myofasciitis post-vaccine".

Neither the staff at the NHS ME clinic nor the ME Association suggested that I may have Macrophagic Myofasciitis, even though the symptoms are identical to CFS/ME. Anybody who develops CFS/ME after a vaccination containing Aluminium Hydroxide should look into Macrophagic Myofasciitis. Although, be aware that only 1 in 3 people who have the muscle biopsy actually have the illness.

Thank you for this very interesting information re your diagnosis of post-vaccine macrophagic myofasciitis

As you say, the symptomatology is very similar to ME/CFS and there is some evidence that it is linked to hepatitis B vaccine

Here is a link to a review of the subject from some French neurologists:

http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fneur.2014.00230/full