Mercury in vaccines is at safe levels.

2003 JAN 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The first detailed analysis of blood mercury levels in infants who received vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal indicates that blood levels of mercury in children are comfortably below current safety limits.

The study of 61 children by physicians and scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center also found that the form of mercury in vaccines is eliminated from the blood much more quickly than scientists had predicted.

"The results are very reassuring," said pediatrician Michael E. Pichichero, MD, the lead investigator of the study and professor of microbiology and immunology, pediatrics, and medicine. "The amount of mercury is well below all established safety levels."

The issue is at the core of a national debate over the safety of vaccines. While some parents and politicians have asserted that the minuscule amounts of mercury used in vaccines could be responsible for a range of disorders including autism in some children, no scientific study has found a link. The current study, published in Lancet, added evidence to the argument by most pediatricians and public health officials that vaccines are safe.

"Every day we see families who are reluctant to have their children vaccinated because of this issue," said Pichichero. "We work with them, and many decide to go ahead with vaccinations, but some do not, and so they put their children at increased risk for developing serious diseases. It's no longer a routine office visit."

During the 1990s the number of vaccines given to infants increased markedly, with the addition of immunizations against diseases like hepatitis B and meningitis. Though each vaccine contained only a small amount of thimerosal and a minute amount of mercury, some became concerned that perhaps the cumulative amounts might harm children.

In 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics and public health officials urged vaccine manufacturers to remove thimerosal from vaccines administered in the United States. The compound has since been removed from nearly all vaccines given to U.S. children, though there is no scientific evidence that the compound has harmed children. The preservative is still used widely in other countries to make vaccines available to millions of children at a lower cost.