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including death, and that the risk is approximately 2.5 per 100,000 people. Guillain-Barré syndrome is a rapidly progressing form of polyneuropathy characterized by muscle weakness, numbness, pain, and paralysis. Symptoms may not appear until four weeks following vaccination.
Both the OPV and IPV (which may not cause live polio) are made from monkey tissues that have been scientifically proven to carry viruses. Scientists have linked these viruses to AIDS, cancer, and other immune and neurological dysfunctions such as chronic fatigue syndrome.
DPT
The diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DPT) vaccine, given at two, four, six, and eighteen months with a booster between four and six years old, has been associated with more severe reactions than any other vaccine. The most frequently reported reactions include prolonged crying for more than three hours, high-pitched screaming, collapse/shock, fever over 103 degrees, excessive sleepiness, and convulsions. Some researchers believe that if your child experiences any of these symptoms, they have sustained brain injury that may range from mild (as in learning disabilities) to serious (as in mental retardation).
The British National Childhood Encephalopathy Study, the largest and most highly controlled study of brain damage in children ever conducted, found that one in 110,000 DPT shots results in brain inflammation, and one in 310,000 results in permanent brain damage.
According to the scientific literature on infant deaths following vaccine reactions, the DPT vaccine can cause infant deaths that are sometimes misclassified as SIDS.
The acellular version of the vaccine, DTaP, was licensed for use in infants in 1996. This version is considerably safer; however, most of the mild and serious reactions following DPT vaccination also have been reported following DTaP. It is believed, though, that DTaP produces reactions in a smaller number of children.
According to Kathi Williams, even with the advent of DTaP, there are still reports of seizures in children following the vaccination. "As the FDA puts it, there is no vaccine that's 100 percent safe and effective. The toxins in per-

 

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tussis bacterium are very dangerous, and they're still included in the acellular version in order to make it effective. However, there will always be reactions to those toxins in the vaccine," she says.
Tetanus
In 1994, the Institute of Medicine concluded that tetanus and diphtheriatetanus vaccines can cause Guillain-Barré syndrome including death, and death from anaphylactic shock. Too few studies have been done separating out the tetanus component to determine whether tetanus alone or with the diphtheria vaccine can cause other serious health problems reported with the DPT vaccine. Reported reactions from tetanus and diphtheria-tetanus have included residual seizure disorder, demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system, peripheral mononeuropathy, arthritis, and erythema multiforme (lesions of the skin or mucous membranes).
HIB
The Haemophilus influenza type B (Hib) vaccine, administered at two, four, six, and twelve months, is given to prevent bacterial meningitis, a potentially life-threatening disease with possible long-term side effects such as hearing loss and learning disabilities. It's required before a child can enter preschool. However, serious vaccine-associated reactions have been reported, such as convulsions; anaphylactic allergic reactions; serum sickness-like reactions such as joint pain, rashes, and edema; and occasionally death within four hours of vaccination. In addition, several cases of proven Hib invasive disease (meningitis) have occurred soon after immunization.
Hepatitis B
The hepatitis B vaccine, now given twelve hours after birth, with boosters at one and six months, has numerous side effects linked to its use. In 1994, the Institute of Medicine reported that there is compelling scientific evidence that the hepatitis B vaccine causes anaphylactic shock. In 1990, the