The Virus and the Vaccine

	Author(s): Bookchin, Debbie Schumacher, Jim Publisher: St. Martin|s Griffin Format: Paperback List Price:  $15.95
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Overview:
Jonas Salk's polio vaccine is regarded as a veritable medical miracle, for it largely eradicated one of the most feared diseases of the twentieth century. But the story of the vaccine has a dark side, one that has never been fully told before. Between 1954 and 1963, 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 SV40 is showing up in human cancers today, and prominent researchers are demanding a serious public health response to this forgotten polio vaccine contaminant. This meticulously researched and powerfully written book takes readers on a side-by-side journey with some of today's most prominent cancer researchers and raises major questions about vaccine policy.

Category: Diseases