Tag: mental health

The Tragic Tale of the Typhoid Marys

I’ve noticed with the recent Rona situation, how the broader sense of health and wellbeing (freedom, mental wellbeing, human connections, socialising, enjoying our families, experiencing happiness and hope and purpose) has been cast aside for a very restricted definition of ‘health’ (presence or absence of a certain pathogen, or presence or absence of a certain set of symptoms), and how destructive it really is.

It wasn’t all that long ago, when testing positive for a certain pathogen (whether you displayed symptoms or not) was enough to have your freedoms removed, and spend the rest of your days in misery…all in the name of public health

The most famous, of course, was ‘Typhoid Mary’.

Mary Mallon (1869 – 1938) arrived in America as a penniless 15-year-old Irish immigrant. She loved to cook, and she was good at it, too – that’s how she came to be working for affluent families.

Typhoid typically struck the poor and dirty parts of town, so when it struck the well-to-do family that Mary had been working for, they hired a sleuth to investigate – one George Soper.

When Mr Soper turned up at Mary’s door, demanding she give him samples of her urine and feces, Mary did what any respectable lady would do, under the circumstances – she chased him away with a meat fork! [1].

Soper, however, was undeterred. He went to the city health board, with his suspicions that Mary was an ‘asymptomatic carrier’ of typhoid. When Mr Soper returned with the police, Mary hid for five hours, before they finally discovered her hiding place, and hauled her off to the hospital to be tested. When her test returned positive, she was sent to Riverside Hospital on North Brother Island. She was there for 2 years, before she was allowed back into society, on the promise that she would not work as a cook.

During that time, Mary was forced to provide 163 samples of various bodily substances, in order to be tested. One hundred and twenty of those tested positive. Doctors pressured her to have her gallbladder surgically removed – Mary refused [2].

Mary went to work as a laundry maid. But the pay was poor and she missed cooking…and she didn’t really believe she was carrying diseases, when she seemed perfectly healthy. So she changed her name, and got a job in the kitchen at Sloane Maternity hospital. When a typhoid outbreak occurred there, she was discovered, and sent back to North Brother Island, where she stayed for the next 25 years, until her death in 1938.

Mary became infamous, the butt-end of jokes and cartoons, and an object of fear, in the media. At the time, approximately 1000 people per year in New York were diagnosed with typhoid – but they were mostly poor. Mary’s alleged victims were all rich, and perhaps that, along with the fact that she was an immigrant woman, is why Mary got the treatment she did? [3]

They blamed Mary for the death of three people, and sickness in dozens more, although by the time she died, hundreds of other ‘asymptomatic carriers’ had been discovered in the US, although, none were quarantined.

Numerous US newspapers ran stories in 1954, stating that “known carriers are kept under strict surveillance by the Public Health Officials and are visited at least twice yearly.  

None, under any circumstances, are permitted to work commercially with milk or other foods. Members of the carrier’s household are advised to be vaccinated, and annual booster shots are given (to the carrier) for additional protection.

All known typhoid carriers are listed in the State Registry so that, among other things, occupation and residence can be frequently checked upon by investigators. Owing to the instruction and supervision given, carriers usually prevent no menace to the community or household.

No drug yet found will rid the carrier’s body of the germs. However, since they frequently localize in the gallbladder or kidney, surgical removal of these organs frequently clears up the infection. Where both kidneys are infected, such an operation is, of course, impossible” [4].

Meanwhile, in the UK, it turns out that many ‘Typhoid Mary’s’ had their lives shattered because they tested positive for a particular germ…

IN 2008, BBC News broke the story, that at least 43 women ‘typhoid carriers’ had been locked up in Long Grove Asylum, Epsom, between 1907, and 1992, when it finally closed.

All were from the London area, and none displayed symptoms of typhoid. By all accounts, these women were mentally stable when admitted to the asylum, but years of living in isolation had affected them mentally (hardly surprising), and so their continued confinement was considered justified, even after the advent of antibiotic treatment for typhoid, in the 1950’s.

The Isolation Unit closed in 1972, and all but two of the women were moved into open wards in the asylum. The remaining two women were ‘incurable’ typhoid carriers, and were confined to two separate small rooms, where they lived out their days, with just the daily paper and a small tv as company.

This information came to light only because historians uncovered two volumes of records in the ruins. Most of the records from the asylum were (conveniently) destroyed after it shut down. [5]

Two women were still alive, when the asylum closed in 1992. They were transferred to other institutions. One woman, Rosina Bryans, had spent 60yrs of her life in confinement.

Staff don’t recall any of the women ever having visitors, despite many of them having been married with children, before being admitted [6].

In memory of Mary Allouis, A Brice, Mary Brooks, Rosina Bryans, Johannah Buckland, Lillian Buzzi, Martha Caunt, Lilian Clark, Marguerite Cross, R Cross, Mrs Davies, Elizabeth Driver, Ella Eves, Jane Caroline Finn alias Jackson, Charlotte Forward, Jennie French, Henrietta Victoria, Florence Fortune Greenhalf, Mabel Hardwick, Ellen Jones, Nellie Keylock, Maud Powell, Rebecca Restall, A Redson, Sarah Reynolds, Edith Rhodes, Charlotte Rock, Elsie Stacey, Bridget Tallott, Rose Thacker, Maud Louise Thomas, Ada Elizabeth Thompson, Emily Titcombe, Florence Elizabeth Truman, Margaret Vanderpant, Lily Wade, Margaret Warren, Ada Caroline Wellington, Marie Westlake, Sarah Whall, Ivy Whitmey-Smith, Emma Munnings, Florence Pell [7].

References:

[1] Latson J, Refusing Quarantine: Why Mary Did It, TIME, 11th November, 2014, Quarantine History: Who Was Typhoid Mary and What Happened to Her? | Time

[2] Inglis-Arkell E, What The City of New York Did to Typhoid Mary Was Pretty Horrific, Gizmodo, 25th December 2014, What the City of New York Did to “Typhoid Mary” Was Pretty Horrific (gizmodo.com)

[3] Brockell G. Yes, There Really Was a Typhoid Mary, an Asymptomatic Carrier Who Infected Her Patrons, The Washington Post, 18th March, 2020, ‘Typhoid Mary’: The true story of Irish cook who infected her patrons – The Washington Post

[4] Gilbert R.O, Your Health, South Pasadena Review, 10th August, 1954, page 4.

[5] Tyhoid Women Were Kept in Asylum, BBC News, 28th July, 2008, BBC NEWS | UK | Typhoid women were kept in asylum

[6] Hale B. The British Women Typhoid Carriers Who Were Locked Up For Life in a Mental Asylum, Until the 1990’s, Daily Mail, 29th July, 2008.

[7] Life Sentence, BBC Radio, 28th July, 2008, BBC – Today


IL-6: The Smoking Gun of Vaccine Damage

For years, many in the vaccine awareness community have pondered whether the rise and rise of widespread vaccination could be related to the rise and rise of chronic conditions afflicting our society (in the West, at least). We have even pondered seemingly unrelated issues, like mental illness, depression, suicide and violence, wondering if vaccines might somehow be involved.

Despite our wondering, we haven’t had definitive proof. Just a vague suspicion that we cannot prove. We’ve been accused, by some, of trying to implicate vaccines in *every* malady known to mankind.

It has been my suspicion that severe reactions following vaccination usually require other co-factors to be present – whether that’s existing toxicity or health conditions, genetic mutations causing a reduced ability to detoxify, low Vitamin C status, recent antibiotic use (leading to gut dysbiosis, etc), systemic yeast infection, chronic stress, to name a few.

However, recently I just happened to be up at 3am in the morning – couldn’t sleep – and decided to do plug some random search terms into Pubmed.

I stumbled across a study that, honestly, shocked me so much, all hope of sleep was gone for the night.

In this small (double-blind, placebo-controlled) study, researchers set out to study the effect of inflammation on emotional awareness. In particular, the ability to ‘read’ another person’s mental state (an important social-cognitive skill that allows us to have meaningful social interactions with other humans).

In order to induce inflammation, they vaccinated participants in the treatment group with Typhim Vi (a typhoid vaccine), while participants in the control group received a saline injection. Levels of Interleukin-6 (an important marker of inflammation) increased by more than 400% in the vaccination group. Those in the vaccination group subsequently performed worse in testing that assessed their ability to ‘read’ the mental state of others [1].

Note that this is not the first study to show that vaccination can significantly increase IL-6 levels. Two decades ago, another study, conducted on premature infants, clearly demonstrated that vaccination with the whole-cell DTP vaccine elevated IL-6 levels. [2].

Now, this may not seem like a big deal, until you begin to understand what science has already discovered about Interleukin-6, since it’s discovery in 1986…

What this study clearly demonstrates is that inflammatory reactions, with potentially long-term consequences, take place after vaccination, even without any OUTWARD or IMMEDIATE signs of harm.

Interleukin-6 is a pro-inflammatory cytokine, normal and necessary to facilitate inflammatory processes during the acute phase of infection. It is when interleukin-6 is elevated excessively, especially for long periods of time, that problems – big problems – start to manifest.

There is an overwhelming, and growing, wealth of evidence that links inflammatory levels caused by excessive Interleukin-6, with neurological disorders, chronic diseases and autoimmune conditions.

AUTISM

Recent studies show that interleukin-6 is significantly up-regulated in autistic patients, compared with healthy controls [3].

Studies on mice also reveal that if IL-6 levels are increased in a pregnant female, brain development is altered in the unborn fetus, and offspring grow up to suffer from behavioural changes and social deficits commonly seen in autism [4-5].

BIPOLAR DISORDER

New research (published October, 2019) shows that symptomatic offspring of parents diagnosed with bipolar disorder, have significantly higher levels of IL-6, compared with offspring who display no symptoms of the disorder [6].

In other research, bipolar patients who were experiencing manic episodes also showed increased IL-6 levels, while bipolar patients who were in remission showed similar levels to healthy controls [7].

CANCER

Over-expression of Interleukin-6 has been reported in almost all types of tumours. According to research published in 2016:

“The strong association between inflammation and cancer is reflected by the high IL-6 levels in the tumour microenvironment, where it promotes tumorigenesis by regulating all hallmarks of cancer and multiple signalling pathways, including apoptosis, survival, proliferation, angiogenesis, invasiveness and metastasis, and most importantly, the metabolism” [8].

Therapies that block or inhibit IL-6 are being explored as a treatment, not only for cancer, but other chronic inflammatory diseases, such as autoimmune conditions [9].

SIDS

Research from 1995 showed that babies who died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) had higher levels of IL-6 in cerebrospinal fluid. Researchers surmised that the presence of these inflammatory cytokines in the central nervous system may cause respiratory depression, especially in vulnerable infants [10].

Importantly, elevated levels of IL-6 were not necessarily accompanied by outward symptoms of infection or inflammation (fever, etc), even though IL-6 is known to cross the brain barrier and affect the body’s temperature ‘set-point’ in the hypothalamus [11].

SUICIDE AND VIOLENCE

Research shows that IL-6 levels are increased in people who attempt suicide, when compared with those who suffer from depression (but are not suicidal) [12]. Furthermore, those who performed violent suicide attempts displayed the highest IL-6 levels [13].

Research published in 2014 showed that IL-6 levels were significantly higher in patients with intermittent explosive disorder, compared to normal controls. In addition, both C-Reactive Protein (another inflammatory marker) and IL-6 were “directly correlated with a composite measure of aggression and, more specifically, with measures reflecting history of actual aggressive behavior in all participants”[14]. Plasma levels of IL-6 significantly correlated with impulsivity and monotony avoidance (a factor in thrill-seeking or dangerous behaviours).

DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY

IL-6 levels are increased in patients suffering from anxiety disorders, compared with control subjects [15].

One study of older women found that those who reported the most depression, anger, fatigue or mood disturbance, had significantly increased levels of IL-6. Although it is known that IL-6 increases psychological disorders, the feelings of anxiety or stress also increase IL-6, so the process can become a ‘vicious cycle’ [16].

At least two meta-analyses have shown that IL-6 is the most consistently elevated cytokine in the blood of patients with major depressive disorder, and that peripheral levels of IL-6 positively correlate to symptom severity [17-18].

It has also been shown that children with higher circulating IL-6 levels at age 9, had a 10% higher risk of developing depression by age 18 [19].

Elevated levels of IL-6 have also been reported in women suffering from post-partum depression [20].

Monoclonal antibodies against IL-6 receptors are currently being used as treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, and are being tested as potential treatment for mood disorders.

TYPE 2 DIABETES

Research shows that elevated levels of both IL-6 and C-Reactive Protein can predict the development of type 2 diabetes [21].

Clearly, there are consequences to up-regulating IL-6 in the body. The question is, if vaccination can increase IL-6 levels by more than 400%, how long do the levels stay elevated for? I feel this is the critical issue at stake here, given that chronic up-regulation seems to be a major factor in many of the disorders mentioned above. Unfortunately, the studies mentioned don’t address this issue, however, we do know that aluminium adjuvants selectively up-regulate IL-6, possibly via oxidative stress processes [22].

According to Professor Gherardi in France, aluminium deposits may persist for up to 12 years at injection site, in some individuals [23]. In mice studies, the aluminium slowly moves from injection site to distant organs, such as brain and spleen, where it can still be detected 1 year following vaccination [24].

PS: If you’d like to support my work, please consider purchasing my book, or telling others about it! I would really appreciate that.

References:

[1] Balter LJT, Hulsken S, Aldred S, et al. Low-grade inflammation decreases emotion recognition – Evidence from the vaccination model of inflammation, Brain Behav Immun, 2018, 73: 216-221.

[2] Pourcyrous M, Korones SB, Crouse D, Bada HS. Interleukin-6, C-Reactive Protein, and abnormal cardiorespiratory responses to immunization in premature infants, Pediatrics, 1998, 101(3):E3.

[3] Eftekharian MM, Ghafouri-Fard S, Noroozi R, et al. Cytokine profile in autistic patients, Cytokine, 2018, 108:120-126.

[4] Smith SE, Li J, Garbett K, et al. Maternal immune activation alters fetal brain development through interleukin-6, J Neurosci, 2007, 27(40):10695-702.

[5] Wu WL, Hsiao EY, Yan Z, et al. The placental interleukin-6 signaling controls fetal brain development and behaviour, Brain Behav Immun, 2017, 62:11-23.

[6] Lin K, Shao R, Wang R. Inflammation, brain structure and cognition interrelations among individuals with differential risks for bipolar disorder, Brain Behav Immun, 2019, S0889-1591(19).

[7] Brietzke E, Stertz L, Fernandes BS, et al. Comparison of cytokine levels in depressed, manic and euthymic patients with bipolar disorder, J Affect Disord, 2009, 116(3):214-217.

[8] Kumari N, Dwarakanath BS, Das A, Bhatt AN. Role of interleukin-6 in cancer progression and therapeutic resistance, Tumour Biol, 2016, 37(9):11553-11572.

[9] Rath T, Billmeier U, Waldner MJ, et al. From physiology to disease and targeted therapy: interleukin-6 in inflammation and inflammation-associated carcinogenesis, Arch Toxicol, 2015, 89(4):541-554.

[10] Vege A, Rognum TO, Scott H, et al. SIDS cases have increased levels of interleuking-6 in cerebrospinal fluid, Acta Paediatr, 1995, 84(2):193-196.

[11] Haynes RL. Biomarkers of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Risk and SIDS Death. SIDS Sudden Infant and Early Childhood Death: The Past, the Present and the Future, University of Adelaide Press, South Australia, 2018, pp. 731–758.

[12] Janelidze S, Mattei D, Westrin A, et al. Cytokine levels in the blood may distinguish suicide attempters from depressed patients, Brain Behav Immun, 2011, 25(2):335-339.

[13] Lindqvist D, Janelidze S, Hagell P, et al. Interleukin-6 is elevated in the cerebrospinal fluid of suicide attempters and related to symptom severity, Biol Psych, 2009, 66(3):287-292.

[14] Coccaro EF, Lee R, Coussons-Read M. Elevated plasma inflammatory markers in individuals with intermitten explosive disorder and correlation with aggression in humans, JAMA Psychiatry, 2014, 71(2):158-165.

[15] O’Donovan A, Hughes BM, Slavich GM, et al. Clinical anxiety, cortisol and interleukin-6: evidence for specificity in emotion-biology relationships. Brain Behav Immun. 2010;24(7):1074–1077.

[16] Lutgendorf SK, Garand L, Buckwalter KC, et al. Life stress, mood disturbance, and elevated interleukin-6 in healthy, older women, J Gerentology, 1999, 54(9):434-439.

[17] Dowlati Y., Herrmann N., Swardfager W., Liu H., Sham L., Reim E.K., Lanctot K.L. A meta-analysis of cytokines in major depression. Biol. Psychiatry. 2010;67:446–457.

[18] Haapakoski R., Mathieu J., Ebmeier K.P., Alenius H., Kivimaki M. Cumulative meta-analysis of interleukins 6 and 1beta, tumour necrosis factor alpha and C-reactive protein in patients with major depressive disorder. Brain Behav. Immun. 2015;49:206–215.

[19] Khandaker G.M., Pearson R.M., Zammit S., Lewis G., Jones P.B. Association of serum interleukin 6 and C-reactive protein in childhood with depression and psychosis in young adult life: a population-based longitudinal study. JAMA Psychiatry. 2014;71:1121–1128.

[20] Boufidou F, Lambrinoudaki I, Argeitis J, et al. CSF and plasma cytokines at delivery and postpartum mood disturbances. J. Affect Disord, 2009, 115:287–292.

[21] Pradhan AD, Manson JE, Nader R, et al. C-Reactive Protein, Interleukin-6 and risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, JAMA, 2001, 286(3):327-334.

[22] Viezeliene D, Beekhof P, Gremmer E, et al. Selective induction of IL-6 by aluminium-induced oxidative stress can be prevented by selenium, J Trace Elem Med Biol, 2013, 27(3): 226-229.

[23] Gherardi RK, Cadusseau J, Authier FJ. Biopersistence and systemic distribution of intramuscularly-injected particles: what impact on long-term tolerability of alum adjuvants? Bull Acad Nat Med, 2014, 198(1):37-48.

[24] Khan Z, Combadiere C, Authier FJ, et al. Slow CCL2-dependent translocation of biopersistent particles from muscle to brain, BMC Med, 2013, 11:99.

200+ Future Vaccines: Here’s A Glimpse of What to Expect

In 2013, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) proudly announced that American biopharmaceutical companies had 271 new vaccines in development [1].

“The 271 vaccines in development span a wide array of diseases, and employ exciting new scientific strategies and technologies. These potential vaccines – all in human clinical trials or under review by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – include 137 for infectious diseases, 99 for cancer, 15 for allergies and 10 for neurological disorders”

Here’s a brief glimpse at what we can expect:

  1. A genetically-engineered nasal vaccine for obesity [2].
  2. A vaccine for malaria, using genetically-engineered parasites [3].
  3. A vaccine made from mouse cancer cells, for use in patients with colorectal cancer [4].
  4. A chimeric virus (two viruses genetically engineered/combined into one virus) vaccine for Japanese encephalitis [5].
  5. A genetically-engineered vaccine for Pseudomonas aeruginosa – apparently it is a major cause of hospital-acquired infections [6]. Note that they tested it on ventilated patients in an intensive care unit – as if they didn’t already have enough to deal with! In addition, vaccination made no difference whatsoever to rates of infection…but that didn’t stop them recommending further testing.
  6. A vaccine for Vigoo enterovirus 71…never heard of it, nevertheless, I’m sure they’ll be able to create a market for it [7].
  7. Plant-based oral vaccines for Type-1 diabetes [8].
  8. A vaccine made from genetically-engineered Listeria, for early-stage pancreatic cancer [9].
  9. Genetically-engineered papaya with an inbuilt vaccine for Taenia solium or T. crassiceps – a type of tapeworm found in pigs and humans [10].
  10. A vaccine for stress [11].

References:

[1] Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), Medicines in development: Vaccines, http://phrma.org/press-release/medicines-in-development-vaccines. Accessed February, 2017.

[2] Azegami T, Yuki Y, Sawada S, et al. Nano-gel based nasal ghrelin vaccine prevents obesity, Mucosal Immunol, 2017, epub ahead of print.

[3] Kublin JG, Mikolajczak SA, Sack BK, et al. Complete attenuation of genetically engineered plasmodium falciparum sporozoites in human subjects, Sci Transl Med, 2017, 9(371).

[4] Seledtsova GV, Shishkov GV, Kaschenko EA, Seledtsov VI. Xenogeneic cell-based vaccine therapy for colorectal cancer: safety, association of clinical effects with vaccine-induced immune responses, Biomed Pharmac, 2016, 83: 1247-1252.

[5] Kosalaraksa P, Watanaveeradej V, Pancharoen C, et al. Long-term immunogenicity of a single dose of japanese encephalitis chimeric virus vaccine in toddlers and booster response 5 years after primary immunization, Pediatry Infect Dis J, 2016, epub ahead of print.

[6] Rello J, Krenn CG, Locker G, et al. A randomized, placebo-controlled phase II study of a pseudomonas vaccine in ventilated ICU patients, Crit Care, 2017, 21(1): 22.

[7] Wei M, Meng F, Wang S, et al. 2-year efficacy, immunogenicity, and safety of Vigoo enterovirus 71 vaccine in healthy chinese children: a randomized, open-label study, J Infect Dis, 2017, 215(1): 56-63.

[8] Posgai AL, Wasserfall CH, Kwon KC, et al. Plant-based vaccines for oral delivery of type-1 diabetes-related auto-antigens: evaluating oral tolerance mechanisms and disease prevention in NOD mice, Sci Rep, 2017, 7: 42372.

[9] Keenan BP, Saenger Y, Kafrouni MI, et al. A listeria vaccine and depletion of T-regulatory cells activate immunity against early stage pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasms and prolong survival of mice, Gastroenterology, 2014, 146(7): 1784-1794.

[10] Fragoso C, Hernandez M, Cervantes-Torres J, et al. Transgenic papaya: a useful platform for oral vaccines, Planta, 2017, epub ahead of print.

[11] Elliot D. Preventing Mental Illness with a Stress Vaccine, The Atlantic, Nov 26, 2016.