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Autism's Spread Brings a
Mystery and a Lawsuit
February 15, 2007
A new report finds that one in
every 60 boys in New Jersey has autism -- nearly twice the national
rate. Youth in the study were affected regardless of race, and the
trend is spread equally throughout the state.
Efforts to find suspected clusters
of autism there have failed, and calls for more research are matched
by a growing demand for new funding and services for children with
the disorder.
In Utah, the Salt Lake Tribune
reports that babies born via Caesarian sections or in breech
position do appear to have a slightly higher rate of autism.
But a chemical culprit has been
harder to identify, leading to a class-action lawsuit by thousands
of parents convinced that their children developed autism after
receiving vaccinations containing a mercury-based preservative.
In an op-ed for the Philadelphia
Inquirer, researcher Arthur Caplan notes that mercury is no longer
used in most vaccines, and that research has failed to correlate the
chemical with a spike in autism nationwide over the last 20 years.
Sources:
"New Jersey has highest rate ever documented
in U.S."
The Record (NJ), February 9, 2007
"Study: Low birth weight, C-section risk
factors in autism"
Salt Lake Tribune, February 8, 2007
"A mother's battle against mercury"
Hernando Today (FL), February 3, 2007
"Fact: No link of vaccine, autism"
Philadelphia Inquirer, February 6, 2007
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