

Jonas Salk's polio vaccine is regarded as a veritbale medical miracle, for it largely eradicated one of the most feared diseases of the 20th century. But the story of the vaccine has a dark side, one that has never been fully told before. Between 1954 and 1963, close to 98 million Americans received polio vaccinations contaminated with a carcinogenic monkey virus, now known as SV40. The government downplayed the incident, and it was generally accepted that although oncogenic to lab animals, SV40 was harmless to humans. But now SV40 is showing up in human cancers, and prominent researchers are demanding a serious public health response to this forgotten polio vaccine contaminant. A gripping medical detective story, The Virus and the Vaccine raises major questions about vaccine policy.
| Dimensions | 15.24 x 2.59 x 23.5 cm |
| Edition | Reprint |
| Isbn 10 | 0312342721 |
| Isbn 13 | 978-0312342722 |
| Item Weight | 898 g |
| Language | English |
| Print Length | 408 pages |
| Publication Date | 1 July 2005 |
| Publisher | Griffin |
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A work of sustained precision
Science is difficult to narrativise even when everyone wants you to hear the story being told: when there are cover-ups and reputations to protect, it takes mastery of detail and clarity of purpose to get down to the truth.Bookchin and Schumacher are those masters, and are to be congratulated on producing a work which cross-checks its conclusions as it goes along. When their book informs you, therefore, you may count yourself that much the wiser. And when it scares you, you would be wise to stay scared.
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The Monkeys' Revenge
One of my earliest recollections dates back to when I was a preschooler in the mid fifties. My parents took me to my brother's school, where we entered what to me seemed like a huge hall. It was crowded with other children and their parents. In the middle of the hall stood a row of long tables, end to end. Enormous trays of pink-dotted sugar cubes, stacked up like little building blocks, covered the tables. As already then I had a sweet tooth, little effort was required to persuade me to eat a sugar cube. From that memorable moment until I read this book, I was mercifully unaware that the pink dot contained an extract of ... minced monkey kidney.The main character and villain of this book is SV40. The S stands for simian, a fancy word for monkey. The V stands for virus. The number 40 expresses that this is the fortieth simian virus claimed to be discovered. The first thirty-nine are considered innocuous. We are not told whether there ever was a forty-first, though there is mention of several variants of SV40.Salk and Sabin, whose names we associate with the polio vaccine, are mentioned frequently. So are many lesser known virologists and researchers. The ones the authors (a married couple, according to the back) admire are described in detail, including their looks, their birthplace, their ancestry, their personalities, and even their habits.Although long lists of sources are provided, the text is devoid of distracting footnotes. On the other hand an inconsistency in font size, apparently a printing bug, does distract.As the plot unfolds, SV40 is discovered stowing away in Sabin's polio vaccine. This would mean that he loses his competition with Salk, were it not that afterward the same stowaway is discovered in Salk's vaccine too. Then is found a "body" ... tumors that proliferate around the site of injection. SV40 is accused of causing a killer cancer, albeit so far only in laboratory rodents.The government's virus police respond by defending the suspect. There is no stowaway. The careless researchers are seeing reflections. And anyway SV40 is harmless to humans.They are no doubt sincere. It is their job to protect the public against the evil of illness. No one would want to see the return of polio. They are of course also understandably not eager to admit they let a murderer slip by on their watch. Furthermore, there is a multimillion dollar business to protect. And the geneticists, like philosophers, are on their side. Isn't the source of all evil in the genes?Meanwhile SV40 is reportedly showing up in the tumors of humans of all ages, even decades after it is believed to have been eradicated from the vaccine. Is it being transmitted to children before birth by their vaccinated mothers? Or is it transmitted through sexual contact? Is the vaccine not cleared of the virus after all? Or has it always existed in the human population?The authors express certainty about SV40's guilt. A judge may be more inclined to allow it the benefit of doubt. When you have to magnify a thing fifty thousand times to see it, the chance that you are misinterpreting what you see is about as large as the chance of being wrong that an "Egyptian funerary carving from the eighteenth dynasty (1580 - 1350 B.C.E.) portrays a priest with a withered limb [due to polio]." Detections made by complicated computers are as likely to be reliable as computer-generated translations. The claim that SV40 "turns off tumor suppressor genes known as p53" is made as glibly as though an intruder is caught red-handed turning off the burglar-alarm. Labeling it "the most potent human carcinogens that we know" makes it sound like Jack the Ripper. The rise of a particular rare type of cancer "from near zero in the mid 1950s to several thousand cases annually in the 1990s" could have reasons other than exposure to polio vaccine, for instance new diagnostic criteria or a vast increase in toxins in the air, water, or food chain. Missing, probably because it was never done, is an epidemiological study comparing the incidence of disease believed to be caused by SV40 in the general population to that in populations who do not vaccinate on principle.Concern for the welfare of the monkeys is not an issue dealt with in this book though there is mention of difficulty obtaining shipments of Rhesus monkeys from northern India because the local population consider them holy.So is or is not SV40 from the polio vaccine a killer? On the basis of this book, I remain undecided. It was certainly stupid of governments across the globe to expose the majority of the human population to a substance of which the long-term effects could not possibly have been known. Thanks to luck, not governmental regulation, humanity was spared from annihilation. Even if the allegations against SV40 are true, it can hardly be considered a mass murderer compared to the massive opportunity thrust upon it. The deaths attributed to it are rare, which of course does not console the individuals so affected and their families.Contrary to most books I review, this one ends with conclusions that I fully endorse:"The decisions of our health policy makers, even when well intentioned, are not always enlightened. And sometimes those decisions are not even well intentioned. Sometimes they are based on bias or inadequate scientific evidence. Sometimes they are influenced by the close relationship between the pharmaceutical industry and the government health officials who are charged with regulating that industry. Moreover, sometimes even the best scientists can make mistakes. The safest medical products can have unforeseen side effects ... For that reason, individuals, not governments, must maintain the right to control what medical procedures they and their children undergo and what pharmaceuticals they consume."Copyright ยฉ MeTZelf
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The Virus and the Vaccine
This book is a stunning read, detailing the medical establishments horrifying disregard for truth and determination to stamp on dissent when confronted with cast iron evidence that the polio vaccine was contaminated with the most potent cancer causing organism known. The story of Michael and Rafaela Horwins son Alexander and how he suffered a brain tumour at 2 years of age, caused by the SV 40 virus some 40 years after it was supposedly removed from vaccines, then died as a result of conventional medical treatment against their wishes is heartbreaking. Anyone interested in how the pharmaceutical industry and medical establishment works, or concerned about vaccines in general should read this book.The only problems I have with this book is that it portrays vaccines as having eradicated diseases such as smallpox, and that the Salk vaccine was a success in eliminating polio. As a vaccine researcher I know these claims to be nonsense, and was deeply disappointed that the authors have not properly researched the background to vaccines, after doing such a brilliant job of uncovering the truth about SV 40 contamination. Because of this it only gets 4 stars, otherwise it would have been 5.
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WHAT YOU DONโT KNOW ABOUT THE DARK SIDE OF VACCINES WILL ASTOUND YOU!
Cancer-causing viruses and vaccines โ 2 things that most of us ordinarily know very little about. We trust the experts, but we shouldnโt. Many who read this book will undoubtedly have also read โ or should read โ Dr. Maryโs Monkey, the gripping expose of murder, cancer research, tainted vaccines, infected monkeys, and covert government operations. Apparently, that book was just the tip of the iceberg. What you donโt know will absolutely astound and can even kill you.Ever wonder about the insane rise in human cancers? Here are some shocking answers. SV-40. A carcinogenic monkey virus and vaccine contaminant in the polio vaccine that you will never forget. Itโs showing up now in humans and from a surprise source no one ever anticipated, except those who kept its top-secret dangers confidential. This font of knowledge is perfectly organized and eye-opening in its scope, and is absolutely a must-read.I canโt think of a book more worthwhile for our time or with more profound implications, especially since the whole world is the grip of the Covid-19 pandemic from corona virus and NO ONE is immune to it. Everyone is looking to the development of a vaccine as the Holy Grail cure. We thought the worst of was behind us with eradication of the polio virus in the 20th Century, but wait til you find out what that vaccine really is and how it was developed. The facts of this powerfully illuminating and cautionary book chilled me to the bone. But I wonโt say that I didnโt always suspect such things and am very anti-viral vaccine by nature. No one ever talks about the side effects. The author details the dark side of a vaccine, but in truth, ALL vaccines have a dark side and the medical establishment has sold the public a bill of goods about their efficacy and safety, and we're all paying the price.Either you have cancer, know someone who has or had cancer, or may get it yourself in the future. Any way you slice it, this book is a must-read to arm yourself with the facts about vaccines, take control and advocate for your own medical and health safety, and arm yourself with the best knowledge to keep your body healthy. I only recently learned of this book but better late than never. It is now a medical bible for me. We all deserve to know how and where our vaccines are researched and made, what risks they pose, especially as we await a rushed to delivery Covid-19 vaccine that I already distrust heavily, and worry about safety. Read this book and blow your mind. It will bring sadness, enlightenment, and a great deal of understanding to everyone, but especially those who are living it in the dark without transparency and full disclosure.
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Absolutely stunning.
If you believe that Federal Regulators have only your best interest at heart, when deciding what's injected into your children -- think again. The remarkable, and repulsive, true story of how The cancer causing Monkey virus SV40 contaminated Americas polio vaccines for potentially as long as 40 years, demonstrates clearly the bias and failure to admit mistakes on the part of regulators. Millions of people were intentionally exposed to this virus because the government didn't want people to "lose faith" in vaccines, or manufacturers to lose money switching to safe manufacturing practices.Reading this wretched tale is enough to make you rightfully question ALL mandated products that biased, bumbling, conflict of interest regulators demand your children be injected with. If you've still got faith in the system that threw you overboard 50 years ago after discovering the truth within in this book, good luck -- you're going to need it.
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The Virus and the Vaccine
P.S. January 4, 2015I just read the book "The Virus and the Vaccine" by Bookchin and Schumacher. It documents the contamination of the Polio Vaccine with Viruses contained in the monkey kidney tissue which was used to make the Polio Vaccines. It is an amazingly well researched book covering the development of the Polio Vaccines, in depth, with all the techniques, scientists, doctors, and governmental agencies involved. It also describes the problems which arose from using living animal cells, from monkey kidneys, to grow viruses destined for Human vaccination. The problem was, and is still, is that animal tissues, and especially kidneys, contain viruses, which in the 1950's were not detectable microscopically or otherwise, and they got into the vaccines, alive. This book documents the story of how some scientists found and identified these "Simian Viruses", both in the Simian tissues and in the Polio vaccines that were injected into hundreds of millions of people, around the world. One of these Simian Viruses, "SV40", has been found in the Polio vaccines, and also in biopsied Human cancerous tissues! Early researchers noticed something in the vaccines could cause cancers in lab animals, but their warnings were buried, by the governmental bureaucrats in charge of the vaccine programs. The book documents the work of many independent scientists, from around the world, who identified the viral contaminant, SV40, in vaccines, and in Human cancers.However, the contaminated vaccine story goes farther. The book, "The River", which I am reading now, by Hooper, documents that some Simian viruses, SIV's, found in chimpanzees, are identical to HIV. Chimpanzee kidneys were possibly used by one of the early Polio vaccine makers, Hillary Koprowski, in his CHAT (Chat stands for "chimpanzee attenuated type", which is a "LIVE" virus vaccine), Polio vaccine which was tested on 350,000 unsuspecting black children and adults, in the Belgian Congo in the mid 1950's. Hooper shows that where the CHAT vaccine was used is exactly where, just a few years later, the first cases of HIV/AIDS appeared!So, to tie this all together, XMRV, SV40, and HIV, all have been found to contaminate vaccines, and have been found to cause cancers, Autism, AIDS, and other horrible diseases in Humans. How the National Institutes of Health, the CDC, the US Public Health Service, the National Cancer Institute, the FDA, and the other public agencies responsible for Public Health and the safety of vaccines and medicines, could have knowingly allowed this to happen is inexcusable! It is beyond criminal, because hundreds of millions of people have been injured or killed, and live pathogenic viruses including new man-made pathogens have been introduced into the Human population, and are spreading, uncontrollably!What can be done now? The "Official Governmental" coverup continues. It is time to expose publicly what the independent scientists and journalists have proven to be the case. Congressional Hearings need to be held! The truth needs to be known, so that a proper course of action can be determined, and embarked upon.You may wish to read my review on the new book by Mikivits and Heckenlively called "Plague". It covers the story of the discovery of a new manmade virus which has been found, XMRV. It is a retrovirus in the family of HIV, and it is alive, transmissible, virulent, pathogenic, and attacks the immune and nervous systems. It has been found in kids with Autism and in people with "Myalgic encephalomyeletis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome". It attacks the nervous system and imbalances the immune system, causing damage and inflammation. It has been found in somewhere between 4-8% of the "well" people in the U.S.. It is contagious by bodily fluids, like HIV, and like HIV attacks and damages white blood cells, thereby throwing the immune system into dysregulation. This is a manmade virus, which may have contaminated vaccines. The governmental agencies who are responsible for public health know about it, but are covering up the story, fearing that people will realize how incompetent and dangerously irresponsible they have been. This is a great story, and a great read for health care professionals and college students in the biological sciences fields. I highly recommend it.Russell DobkinsJanuary 4, 2015
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Five Stars
Very informative, and well written.
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A Must Read
This story is incredible and likely to disturb readers to the core. There are so many ways to go with writing a review. First, there's the readability factor: Scores a 10 there - it's a page turner as others have written. I read it over the course of 3 nights and found, like others, that it reads like a thriller or perhaps even a Grisham novel - only this story is TRUE.Second, there's the important lessons for all of humankind factor: Scores a 10 in this department as well. Polio vaccine is a human invention; human beings are not infallible, they have never been infallible, and by extension there never has been nor will there ever be a human invention that is not prone to errors in human thinking, reasoning, and judgment and not subject to continuous improvements and/or great change as human knowledge advances.Despite this undeniable truth, large health organizations and government health agencies would like the public to believe a very one-sided message about polio vaccine: that it is a medical milestone worthy of great praise and worship as it has delivered mankind from the evils of the childhood affliction of polio. Amen.But that's only half the story. This book is about the other half - the one you won't read about in the press and that's about a great trade off of the polio vaccine. In exchange for reducing the rate of paralytic polio instances in childhood, has this wondrous medical marvel cut decades off many of our friends' and neighbors' lives? We all know people, some of them really great people, who died of rare and mysterious cancers in their 30s, 40s and 50s. They were diagnosed with cancer and as soon as treatments began their tumors spread fast and they succumbed quickly to their strange form of cancer. They left behind spouses, children and parents who will never be cared for by them in youth and old age.I'm not suggesting that all, most or even some of these deaths are a result of SV-40 contaminated polio vaccine, but we are not in a position at present to ever know for sure as the party-line from the organizations who are supposed to protect public health continues to be that SV-40 in polio vaccines has not been proven to cause harm to man.Please read this book and encourage other thinking people to read it too. There are many lessons that can be and should be learned from the polio vaccine history and SV-40 story. You'll also come away with new modern-day heroes who, unlike so many of the icons of today, are truly worthy of your respect and admiration. There are the scientists and researchers like Bernice Eddy, Michele Carbone and others who did and continue to do the right thing despite the many pressures to not stir up this pot. And then the biggest heroes of all in my mind are the authors for taking the time and dedicating years of their lives to accurately tell this great story...the true story that plain and simply has to be told.
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