DTP and Other Reactions

DTP and Seizures

Despite the fact that the UCLA study tracked reactions in 16,536 doses of DTP and recorded a seizure incidence of 1 in 333, the authors claimed that seizure occurrence could not be statistically verified because of the small number of children (1).  The Pollock and Morris study of 1983 tracked an even larger number of children (134,000 DT recipients and 133,000 DT recipients) and noted that the chances of seizure were 5.3 times greater for DTP recipients than for DT recipients. (2)

DTP and Autism?

I’ve seen many stories in magazines like Mothering and online where parents cite a DTP booster, not MMR as when they noticed their child regress and begin to exhibit autistic symptoms. This is anecdotal, but something to consider. A couple of examples:
http://mothering.com/health/childs-severe-reaction-vaccine-alters-life
http://mothering.com/health/wake-vaccines


DTP and Paralytic Polio

It is a documented fact that paralytic polio cases can and do follow DTP injections. This was first documented in 1909 and subsequently seen in the polio outbreaks of the 1950’s in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States (3). We’ve all been told that polio ran rampant in the 1950’s because of a lack of vaccines, but it seems the opposite may be true. But don’t take my word (and the word of the six different studies Neustaedter cites) for it, take the word of Neva Borden in the LDS (Mormon) Church’s April 1986 Ensign magazine:

“May I add further information about the DPT vaccination, which was mentioned in the July 1985 “Random Sampler” article on immunizations.
According to a recent U.S. ABC News presentation on “20/20,” most American doctors are using a British study as the basis for their confidence in safety of the DPT shot. Yet, in the United States, different methods are used than those mentioned in the British study. In the study, a more refined strain of vaccine was used, and the shots were not given until the babies were six months old—which allowed more time for the infants’ nervous systems to mature.
However, in the United States, we are immunizing our two-and three-month-old babies with a cruder strain of the vaccine. Some of these children have negative reactions to DPT shots—reactions that are even being associated with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or “crib death.”
The study seems to suggest four areas of action for parents: (1) Ask questions and make sure that your doctor is familiar with your child’s and your family’s medical history before administering the DPT vaccine; (2) urge your doctor to follow the warning on bottles of whooping cough vaccine and to pass the warning on to patients; (3) encourage drug manufacturers to make a safer, purer version of the whooping cough vaccine; and (4) wait until your children are six months old before giving them their first DPT shot.
I first became interested in the DPT vaccine when my daughter contracted polio from her DPT shots. Afterwards, my pediatrician told me that I could have “buffered” her against such a strong reaction by giving her Vitamin C just before she received the shot. Each time I buy her a shoe lift, I think of how this belated advice could have saved my daughter from the deformity she now must live with all her life.” (4)




(1) The Vaccine Guide: Making an Informed Decision, Randall Neustaedter, pg. 127
(2) The Vaccine Guide: Making an Informed Decision, Randall Neustaedter, pg. 127
(3)  The Vaccine Guide: Making an Informed Decision, Randall Neustaedter, pg. 51
(4) http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=020cef960417b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD