The Continual Contradictory Positions of AntiVaxxers

It is difficult for vaccine conspiracy theorists or medical conspiracy theorists to remain consistent, and trying to nail down their actual viewpoints can often be more difficult than nailing JELL-O to a wall... but at times it is necessary to point out their blatant contradictory statements such as this particular quote: 

“How credible is anything you are told by people in that medical field, when modern medicine is one of the leading causes of death in America. They have all been brainwashed, just like you. Any doctor that speaks out is sytematically [sic] destroyed; it is just a fact.”  ~ Lowell Hubbs

We have covered Mr. Hubbs' nonsense about modern medicine being one of the "leading causes of death" in the past, so I won't bother to point out the flaws in that argument yet again, but what I find interesting here is where Mr. Hubbs claims any doctor who "speaks out" is systemically (or perhaps he meant systematically) destroyed.

Ok fine... so if we take Mr. Hubbs at his word, this means there should be no evidence of any doctor who dares speak out against "the system" because anyone who does would be destroyed.  With that in mind, the following quote by Mr. Hubbs seems rather contradictory:

“Dr. Mercola's website is the worlds largest natural health website, and is trusted by 1000's of viewers as very accurate information; check out how many views there are.”  ~ Lowell Hubbs

So on one hand any doctor who dares speak out against modern medicine or the system will be destroyed, which Mr. Hubbs claims "is just a fact". Yet on the other hand Mr. Hubbs tells us that Dr. Mercola runs the world's largest natural health website and he admits that Mercola is extremely popular. In fact Mr. Hubbs has discussed Mercola many times and obviously holds him in high regard, and if there is anyone out there who could be considered the poster child for "speaking out" against mainstream medicine it would be Mercola.

Of course Mercola isn't the only alternative medicine proponent out there who has earned the right to call himself a doctor.  Mr. Hubbs has spent a great deal of time telling us how great Dr. Tenpenny is, just as he has told us how much of a brave maverick doctor that Andrew Moulden is.  Mr. Hubbs has told us about Dr. Blaylock and Dr. Buttar just as he has told us about Dr. Burzynski.  Mr. Hubbs has even introduced us to his friends Dr. Hagen and Dr. Rall, although in Lowell's defense these last two are Chiropractors so it isn't like they are "real" doctors.

This is the part I struggle with, because all of the doctors mentioned here are still in business and still doing whatever it is that they want to do.  Most of them are heavily involved in alt-med circles, most of them are involved in selling various books, pamphlets, and nutritional supplements, several still practice medicine by their own choosing, and every one of them is still out there walking around free and doing their own thing.

None of these people are behind bars (even if it could be argued that is where they belong).  Many of them are still practicing medicine or chiropractic and still treating patients and those who aren't have retired via their choice - not because they were forced to by anyone else.  Not a single one of these people has been "systemically destroyed" unless you are referring to their credibility, which even I will admit has been greatly tarnished.  However their credibility hasn't been destroyed by the "system" or the medical establishment... but rather it has been destroyed due to their own actions, their lack of evidence and peer-reviewed science, and their overall inability to support their wild claims with anything that resembles fact.  The reality is, I'm unsure if any of these doctors had any credibility to begin with, so it hardly seems accurate to claim they were systemically destroyed.

I fully recognize in the mind of a conspiracy theorist that there has to be some form of an underground shadow operation that is meant to manipulate people and destroy lives.  A conspiracy theory always involves some type of evil and some type of "bad guy" where the fault lies... but in this case Mr. Hubbs's supposed conspiracy theory just doesn't hold up to scrutiny.  He can't have it both ways, so either all of the doctors I have mentioned have been destroyed and they are all no longer a "threat" to modern medicine, or they all continue to be very popular and influential figures within the anti-vaccine and/or alternative medicine community and thus Mr. Hubbs's claim about how doctors are systemically destroyed is yet another fabrication invented in the mind of a conspiracy theorist.

Do you hear that?  It is the sound of backpedaling and someone trying to dig up the goalposts in preparation for yet another move.

Anti-Vaxxers and the Taliban

Q: What do antivaxxers such as Lowell Hubbs have in common with the Taliban?

A: They both have a thing against polio vaccinations.

We have recently learned that the Taliban is effectively banning polio vaccinations within the portions of Afghanistan under their control not because they don't believe the vaccines work, and not because they fear that these vaccines are harmful in any way... but because they don't like the US drone strikes that have killed some of the Taliban leaders.

Yes you have read that correctly - the Taliban is very similar to antivaxxers in that they don't seem to care that the polio vaccine can save thousands of lives.  They don't care that the vaccine has been shown to eliminate polio, and they don't care that the vaccine can prevent people from being stricken with the disease. All they care about is pushing a political and/or social agenda.

It says a lot about people who find themselves fighting for the same things as the Taliban - for the most part both of these groups of people are trying to harm Americans, and as sad as it may seem they both seem to have a lot in common.  The difference is one of these groups are a bunch of ignorant souls who haven't mentally advanced beyond the stone age and who tend to fear what they don't understand... the other is the Taliban.

“He that lies down with dogs shall rise up with fleas”  ~Benjamin Franklin

CNN: Don't Fall at the Finish Line in the Race to Eradicate Polio

I came across an interesting opinion piece published on the CNN website the other day discussing polio vaccination programs.  Much of the data aligns with what we have seen from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and elsewhere, but it is never a bad idea to get a reminder of what we are up against.

"In less than a quarter century, the number of children paralyzed by polio has dropped spectacularly — from 350,000 cases annually to just 650 last year. In 1988, there were 125 countries where polio was endemic. Today, there are just three - Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan."

Lowell Hubbs would have us believe this is all a coincidence and that the containment of polio in over 120 nations had nothing to do with vaccines.  Not only is that opinion absurd, but it makes you wonder what other explanation he can offer which would make sense.  In a period of just over 20 years, we have been able to control, reduce, and in some cases totally eliminate polio from over 120 nations.  We haven't made significant changes in anything else, but when scientists and doctors enter an area and start vaccination the population.... the rate of polio drops like a stone to the point where it is eventually and entirely eliminated in the younger (vaccinated) population.

I actually wonder if Mr. Hubbs and his anti-vaccination friends have any understanding of disease whatsoever.  Do they honestly feel diseases like polio just disappear without any outside factors?  Do they understand what it means for a disease to be endemic in the first place?  Do they have any explanation for why vaccinated populations no longer have to fear contracting polio and why with widespread vaccination programs in a matter of years the spread of diseases such as polio can all but be eliminated?

You will often hear anti-vaxxers like Mr. Hubbs claims vaccinations don't work or that they cause more harm that good.  Well in this one example alone there are over 349,000 people a year who won't need to suffer from the effects of polio... all due to the polio vaccine.  Does that seem like something causing more harm than good?

The next argument anti-vaxxers like to make is that vaccinations exist only to increase profits of the pharmaceutical companies who manufacture the vaccines.  Apparently the scientists and doctors and researchers who work on these vaccines as well as the healthcare workers who are responsible for distributing and administering the vaccines are all involved in some massive conspiracy to make money... and these thousands upon thousands upon thousands of individuals are all just looking to make a quick buck so they remain quiet.

Really?  There comes a point where I have to assume even a conspiracy theorist such as Mr. Hubbs looks at his own theories and says they are simply too hard to believe, but I won't claim to be an expert on those who appear to be suffering from psychological disorders.

"Last week, health ministers representing nearly 200 countries underscored their strong belief in the effectiveness of vaccines and their importance of protecting all the world’s children by passing two resolutions. One declared polio eradication a worldwide health emergency. The other endorsed a global plan to ensure that all children — not just those in wealthy countries — have access to vaccines that prevent diseases."

I know of no conspiracy theory on the planet which has successfully argued the involvement of hundreds of people from hundreds of different nations.  Are we really to believe people like Mr. Hubbs who claim the polio vaccine simply doesn't work, or should we believe the experts and the data which proves otherwise?

The choice is clear - and it seems nearly 200 health ministers have come to the same conclusion.

Read the full CNN article here:  Opinion: Don't fall at the finish line in the race to eradicate polio

Review, Revisit, Recap

Thankfully he isn't in the driver's seat!

There has been quite a bit of information shared on this blog and sometimes it can get difficult to keep it all straight, so I thought now would be a great opportunity to provide a brief summary of what we have learned thus far.
So what exactly have we learned about Lowell Kevin Hubbs?

We have learned that Lowell Hubbs believes that you can cure Cancer with common household baking soda.

We have learned that Lowell Hubbs believes you can CURE cancer with a substance extracted from urine.

We have learned that Lowell Hubbs has been addicted to prescription drugs.

We have learned that Lowell Hubbs has numerous felony convictions for drunk driving.

We have learned that Lowell Hubbs has felony convictions for theft and shoplifting.

We have learned that Lowell Hubbs believes others are trying to hire hitmen to “take him out”.

We have learned that Lowell Hubbs has been banned from the campus of Sanford Hospital, their clinics, and all other facilities including the library.

We have learned that Lowell Hubbs still believes there is some vast conspiracy to discredit Andrew Wakefield and that Wakefield was right all along.

We have learned that Lowell Hubbs believes the CEO of Sanford Health himself has spent at least $75,000 to silence Mr. Hubbs or put out a hit on him.

We have learned that Lowell Hubbs has questionable associations with others who may or may not be involved in illegal activity which Lowell Hubbs pretends does not exist.

We have learned that Lowell Hubbs has been involved in lawsuits against the very drug companies that he relied upon to feed his addictions.

We have learned that Lowell Hubbs believes polio was caused by refined sugar and that the disease just magically disappeared on its own with no help from Salk’s polio vaccine.

We have learned that Lowell Hubbs believes Chiropractic care can cure disease even if there is no scientific evidence of it.

We have learned that Lowell Hubbs believes that referencing whale.to somehow makes a claim credible.

We have learned that Lowell Hubbs prefers to post under multiple usernames in an attempt to defend himself.

We have learned that Lowell Hubbs will post under other people’s usernames and try to impersonate them as he fabricates stories and invents lies.

We have learned that Mr. Hubbs will resort to personal threats and intimidation when he realizes that he can’t rely upon scientific fact.

We have learned that Lowell Hubbs is a moon-landing conspiracy theorist.

We have learned that Lowell  Hubbs is a 9/11 conspiracy theorist.

We have learned that Lowell Hubbs believes that hackers are continually tracking his every move including hacking his computer, the Argus Leader website, Google’s servers, Midcontinent Communications network, his email, GoDaddy’s web servers, and pretty much every other form of technology known to man.

We have learned that Lowell Hubbs will go so far as to create fake blog pages and take screenshots of them which he then pretends are being "hacked" on to other blogs all in a silly attempt to play the role of a victim.

We have learned that Lowell Hubbs believes that Kevin Trudeau is a trusted medical expert.

We have learned that Lowell Hubbs believes that prescription drugs are the fourth leading cause of death in the US even though there is zero scientific evidence to support that idiotic viewpoint.

We have learned that Lowell Hubbs believes you can diagnose neurological disorders by looking at a person’s eye movements previously recorded on a videotape and that you can treat those disorders with nutritional supplements sold by the very person who performs the diagnoses.

We have learned that Lowell Hubbs associates with people that in his own words are pedophiles, and rather than reporting his claims or suspected sexual abuse to the authorities, he instead fabricates excuses as to why he hasn’t done so.

Last, but certainly not least, we have learned that Lowell Hubbs is most likely suffering from numerous mental and psychological issues and that he thus far has refused to seek the assistance of a qualified mental health professional which only suggests (based upon his words and actions) that one day we will likely read his name in the paper as being involved in some violent act against innocent civilians whom he disagrees with.

So there you have a summary of the man known as Lowell Kevin Hubbs. His own words, his own statements, his own actions, his own history… all right here for anyone and everyone to read, absorb, and use to form their own opinions on the questionable mental stability of this man. I would love to say that I’ve made it all up and that none of it is true or that there is nobody on the planet that has these crazy viewpoints, but sadly this is all true and as disturbing as it may seem… Mr. Hubbs is very much real.

In truth, it is probably a discredit to Mr. Hubbs to refer to him as a vaccine conspiracy theorist when it seems so obvious that he doesn’t limit himself to only vaccines, but since we can’t cover the gamut on one lone blog we will continue to do our best to focus upon vaccines and vaccine related issues as we continue to expose Mr. Hubbs for what he really is.

Detecting Autism via Microsoft Kinect

Kinect cameras watch for autism - tech - 08 May 2012 - New Scientist

This article discusses a very interesting concept which could help diagnose children with autism at a much younger age than traditional methods.  Granted it is experimental, and as the article suggests this type of monitoring will never replace traditional medical professionals or diagnostic methods, but it can be an additional tool used to ensure autistic children are diagnosed as young as possible and thus can receive treatment as soon as possible.

The one problem with this type of technology is it may result in the number of children diagnosed with autism to increase.  As we have witnessed in the past, any further awareness of the condition has led to an increase in the diagnoses, which in turn spurs an angry response from the anti-vaccination crowd as they claim the increases are due to vaccines, or specific ingredients in vaccines, or the sheer number of vaccines etc, etc.

Then again in the mind of a vaccine conspiracy theorist like Lowell Hubbs, this could all be one gigantic scam.  You see the Kinect is a device designed, built, and sold by Microsoft.  The chairman and founder of Microsoft is none other than Bill Gates himself.  The same Bill Gates who has donated hundreds of millions of dollars towards vaccination programs throughout the globe.  Thus, to an anitvaxxer, Bill Gates is an evil man, and as such this Kinect device must be some type of a ruse to confuse people about vaccines and vaccination programs.

I know this all sounds incredibly pessimistic, but the mind of an antivaxxer is an interesting study.  Regardless of their beliefs, I would hope everyone could agree that the idea of diagnosing autism early is a laudable goal, and one we should all be willing to support.

The (Even More!) "Faces" of Lowell Hubbs

Shown here is a group photo of Lowell Hubbs and everyone
who defends Lowell Hubbs on the Internet

Lowell Hubbs appears to be very proud of his anti-vaccination stance, and as such he has essentially devoted his life to spreading his non-scientific nonsense to other scientifically illiterates who seem to share his love affair for conspiracy theories. That in itself is fine of course, but it seems to bother Mr. Hubbs a great deal that not everyone (yours truly included) doesn't agree with him.

The problem is, outside of a few crank websites and save havens for antivaxxers, Mr. Hubbs understands he is far outnumbered, and thankfully most Americans still understand that vaccines are life-saving and serve a very valuable purpose in our society. So when Mr. Hubbs finds himself in a "debate" with people who don't share his twisted views, he often finds it necessary to invent new sockpuppet characters to come to his defense. In fact, he has followed that exact pattern of behavior right here on this blog, and only after I stopped allowing anonymous comments suddenly all of the "Lowell Hubbs defenders" magically disappeared. Apparently Mr. Hubbs realized it was too much trouble to continually register new blogger accounts simply to come to his own defense (although he had tried in several occasions).

I've covered Mr. Hubbs' extensive list of various usernames and logins in the past, but it is probably a good time to add a few of his more recent examples. Thus in addition to the several dozen other usernames I have documented in the past, here are a few more names that Mr. Hubbs has been posting (or attempting to post) comments as:

• Bubba Joe Watkins
• Elvis McFecalmatter
• Costner's Ghost
• Paul Offit
• Poulan
• Hiland
• James Duffy
• Fran
• Skittles McFoo FOO
• One up over your dumb ass spinker hole!
• Corn Holewholeo
• Rambo
• Gomer
• Zena
• Bubba
• Guess
• Bubba Joe Watkins
• Wakeup
• Edgar
• T Gerson
• Barney

And of course when Mr. Hubbs has exhausted his list of usernames and still can't seem to convince anyone he isn't crazy he decides to fall back upon Plan B.... just register an account to mirror that of a legitimate poster and then try to make them look as crazy as Mr. Hubbs. That little plan has backfired on Mr. Hubbs a few times including over at arstechnica where he registered the name "Mark_ooo" in an attempt to confuse readers about the legitimate user "Mark_oo". However his fun was quickly put to a halt as the moderators put a stop to it, but even after being caught red handed Mr. Hubbs just continues to lie about it because lying is what liars do, and aside from being a huge conspiracy theorist, Mr. Hubbs is nothing but a liar.

The truly ironic part of this saga is the fact that Mr. Hubbs continually brags about how he uses his own name, but the truth is he only uses his own name on his own websites and in the relative safety of antivaxxer blogs and websites. In the real world, Mr. Hubbs resorts to various shill and sockpuppet accounts, duplicate profiles, and various clever (and not-so-clever) usernames. He attacks anyone who isn't using their real name on a regular basis, all the while trolling websites and inventing more and more names in order to defend himself.

Whether it be inventing various online identities to defend himself, or simply creating fake blogs to make it appear hackers are picking on him, it seems Mr. Hubbs has no limits to the amount of deceit and fraud he will attempt to perpetuate in order to convince others that he isn't alone in his quest to convince the world that he knows the real truth about vaccines, modern medicine, pharmaceuticals, moon-landings, bigfoot, JFK's assassination, UFOs, 9/11, or any other conspiracy theory you can think of.

I must admit I have to wonder if Mr. Hubbs ever has arguments with a mirror, and perhaps more concerning would be whether he wins or loses those arguments. Based upon his track record in public forums and websites... I'd say the odds are against him.

Update (06/25/12): Mr. Hubbs recently thought it a great idea to post comments under the sockpuppet livejournal account "viper20x4", however he isn't intelligent enough to not repeat the exact same phrases as he does when he posts under his Lowell Hubbs account including identical word choice right down to transposing errors of inserting the word "and" instead of the word "an", as well as using his classic phrase of "to [sic] much to lose" complete with the incorrect form of the word 'too'.  It is clear he isn't fooling anyone, yet he continues to repeat the same pattern of behavior which makes me think of the following quote:

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  ~Albert Einstein

Seems rather fitting.

Is Obesity During Pregnancy a Risk Factor for Autism?

It is important to preface this information by stating that although this study is very interesting, this in no way proves autism is caused by obesity, or more specifically obesity during pregnancy.  There are a number of factors that most likely contribute to autism, and this is merely one such factor.

What this study did find was that women who were obese during pregnancy were about 67 percent more likely to have autistic children than women who were considered normal-weight during pregnancy.  That is a significant development, but one which needs confirmation via additional research.  If this holds true, then this is yet another piece of the puzzle which coupled with other research can lead us towards finding the true root cause(s) of autism and hopefully (eventually) to treatment programs and even a cure.

USA Today (AP): Autism may be linked to obesity during pregnancy

Full study can be found in the Journal Pediatrics:  Maternal Metabolic Conditions and Risk for Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders

The question remains - how can antivaxxers like Lowell Hubbs spin all of this new research to shift the blame back onto the vaccines they claim cause autism?  Can they just conveniently ignore these studies?  Can they claim obesity is caused by vaccines themselves?  Will they try to pretend the increased risk from obesity is merely a trigger and that the root cause is still vaccines?

It is anyones guess, but considering how often antivaxxers confuse correlation and causation, you might think they would be quick to recognize that as the obesity epidemic in our nation has ballooned (pardon the pun) so has the autism epidemic.  Of course I am not one to draw conclusions based upon random coincidences... but then again I'm not an antivaxxer.

Perhaps this is a good time to mention that Jenny McCarthy weighed in at 211lbs during her pregnancy with her son Evan (who she claims was autistic until she magically 'cured' him).  Considering McCarthy is 5'7" and around 125lbs, a health weight range during pregnancy would have resulted in her gaining between 28 and 40lbs.  Thus, in no uncertain terms, McCarthy was clinically obese during her pregnancy as she was carrying at least 46 extra pounds on her frame.

For the record I'm not suggesting that McCarthy's weight resulted in her son being autistic, primarily because I can't be certain her son actually is (or was) autistic in the first place.  However if her son is autistic, it seems her massive weight gain during her pregnancy was likely a significant risk factor, and as such will most likely go unmentioned by McCarthy or anyone else in the anti-vaccination camp.  Why you ask?  Because antivaxxers would never be willing to accept that their actions might contribute to their children being diagnosed with autism, and instead it is much easier to just blame vaccines or drug companies or pediatricians or hospitals.  It seems it isn't really about finding a root cause... it is about finding someone else to blame. 

Sadly, this seems to be the American way as everyone claims to be a victim and they are never to blame for something that might go wrong.  If something happens to a child, the parents look around for someone to blame.  If someone gets caught driving drunk, they blame the police or the judge.  If they are arrested for theft, they blame a substance abuse issue.  If they suffer from a medical condition or have issues controlling their rage, they look to a doctor or drug company to blame, but rarely do people actually look in a mirror and accept responsibility for their own lives.

Any way you spin it, this is not a good time to be an anti-vaccinationist, and 2012 is shaping up to be one of the worst years on record for Lowell Hubbs, Jenny McCarthy, and their antivaxxer brethren.

Autism Linked to Inherited Gene Mutations

Per a recent ABC News article, "[...] many scientists agree that the growing autism numbers may in part be attributed to certain genetic mutations that are most likely inherited from the father, according to the combined findings of three studies published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

The studies are the largest to date to use whole-exome sequencing, which decodes the protein in both children and their parents, an arguably more precise method of detecting genetic mutations in multiple genes that may be associated with autism.

The findings from one of the studies supports mounting evidence suggesting that the older the father, the higher the chance the child may develop some form of autism.

In another study, researchers who compared siblings with and without autism found that the sibling with autism had two different mutations of the gene SCN2A.

Genetic mutations found in the child with autism that were not found in either parent are likely not associated with autism, one of the studies concluded."

The full ABC News article can be found here:  Autism Linked to Inherited Gene Mutations, Particularly From Dad

A similar New York Times article referencing the same studies can be found here:  Scientists Link Gene Mutation to Autism Risk

And the studies can be found here (note registration is required to read some of the full studies):

De novo mutations revealed by whole-exome sequencing are strongly associated with autism

Exome sequencing in sporadic autism spectrum disorders identifies severe de novo mutations

Patterns and rates of exonic de novo mutations in autism spectrum disorders


Please don't misunderstand these studies, the articles, or my comments.  This data does not prove a root cause of autism and there is much, much more work to be done.  However these studies do show us a link, and finding more and more of these links coupled with determining other risk factors can lead us to the true cause somewhere down the road. 

Studies like this are crucial if we wish to find the true root cause of autism, however you aren't about to hear many antivaxxers talking about them because any discussion which surrounds genetic risk factors reduces the chances that their vaccination fears are justified.  The reality is we see more and more autism research coming out almost on a weekly basis, and to date none of it has ever shown a link between vaccines and autism.

Perhaps it is time some of these antivaxxers such as Lowell Hubbs started to pay attention to this research and modify their hypothesis.  Rest assured I don't suspect that will happen, but the more data and research that we have on the subject, the more foolish these antivaxxers look.  I can only assume it gets tiring for them to keep developing new and clever excuses to explain away the mountains of evidence which fly in the face of their "vaccines cause autism" unsupportable theories, but true to form you can expect them to slide the goalposts yet again as they try to spin this in their favor.

Antivaxxers are nothing if not consistently misleading and flat-out dishonest.

Autism Prevalence: One in 88?

There are times when it makes sense to draft a blog post to discuss a particular subject matter or news report so that I can offer my own take on the information, add some context, and of course a dose of commentary.  In respect to the latest CDC report that shows one in 88 American children are autistic, my previous blog post accomplished this.

Then there are other times when it makes more sense to simply link to another site which has already done their own legwork. This is one of those times, and this article written by Dr. Gorski over at Science Based Medicine does an amazing job of spelling out some of the major logical errors that originate from the anti-vaccination camp.  It is worth a read.

Via Science Based Medicine: Autism prevalence: Now estimated to be one in 88, and the antivaccine movement goes wild

Of course I do have a few points of my own to add as well. First, if the prevalence of autism is actually growing (as opposed to the rate of diagnoses growing), then it tends to fly in the face of the theory that vaccines cause autism, because antivaxxers keep telling us that more and more people are skipping vaccines in favor of more "natural methods".  Granted some of these people are dying as a result, and of course we know the claims of more and more people skipping vaccines simply arent' true, but the point is antivaxxers can't have it both ways. If they honestly believe that vaccines cause autism, and if they also believe that more and more parents are seeking vaccine exemptions for their children, then by all accounts the rate of autism diagnoses should actually be decreasing.  It is not.

So what is it? Are we to honestly believe the rate of autism is actually going up not due to better diagnoses but simply because the disease is that much more prevalent? If that is the case, then clearly antivaxxers must admit that their anti-vaccination campaign isn't working... because how else can you explain the rate of autism going up unless you believe a larger percentage of children are receiving vaccinations?

The truth is, the wild claims about the number of parents seeking vaccine exemptions simply aren't true, and although the rates of vaccination are not decreasing, they aren't actually increasing at a huge rate either. For the most part, vaccination rates haven't shifted more than 5% in recent years, thus any attempt to blame a increase in the prevalence of autism upon vaccines and/or vaccination rates seems to stumble out of the gate.

It is interesting when you examine the actual usage of vaccines during 2008 and align this with the reported rate of autism from the CDC report. The same can be done for the cohort groups from 2002 and 2006 as well. If vaccine use had actually decreased, one might think antivaxxers would have taken the time to align this usage to an decrease in autism diagnoses. However, since vaccine use has remained relatively stable (in some cases actually increasing slightly) during this time period, yet the rate of autism diagnoses has grown at a much faster rate, how do they explain the discrepancy?

Perhaps a better question is, why haven't these anti-vaccination groups performed this analysis prior to jumping on the "vaccines must cause autism" bandwagon? The data simply does not support the hypothesis... and they know it.

As you can see this becomes rather difficult to explain if you are an antivaxxer. Things become even more difficult to explain when you realize the time period this report covers occurs during the time period that thimerosal was being removed from all childhood vaccinations. This should indicate that the removal of thimerosal had no impact upon the rate of autism, and if one were to confuse correlation and causation (as so many antivaxxers commonly do), one could even go so far as to make the argument that the removal of thimerosal actually increases the rate of autism.  After all, we know the amount of thimerosal being injected into children has dropped significantly since the year 2000 almost to the point of being eliminated entirely (aside from some flu vaccines), and we also know the rate of autism is growing rapidly.  So if we were to simply base our opinion upon correlation, it stands to reason that the removal of thimerosal is directly responsible for the increase in autism.

By all means let me know when one of these antivaxxer groups comes out with that little hypothesis.

Another interesting tidbit at play here is the fact that this data comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If you have spent more than five minutes researching the subjects of autism and/or vaccines you will know that antivaxxers are very skeptical of the CDC. They have accused the CDC of manipulating data, they have accused them of falsifying studies, they have accused them of being in the back pocket of "big pharma" and they have a severe distrust of anything that is published or released by the CDC.... until now apparently.

This is yet another example of how antivaxxers attempt to cherry pick data that flies in the face of their own wild and unsubstantiated theories. If you don't trust an organization, why is it ok to cite their data and treat it as fact when they have stated previously that CDC funded studies are worthless? Is that not the definition of hypocrisy?

It seems we are to the point that any new information about autism diagnosis is immediately pounced upon by the antivaxxer community, and unfortunately they appear to do so even before they understand the very data they are using as ammunition. Perhaps instead of jumping to conclusions using faulty assumptions and opinion the anti-vaccination crowd would be well served to take a step back, fully understand the data they are discussing, and perhaps begin to realize this is a much bigger issue, and a must more important issue, than they are trying to make it out to be.

It sort of makes you wonder... what might it take before an antivaxxer admits they might be wrong? What might it take before Andy Moulden, Sherri Tenpenny, Dr. Mercola, Andrew Wakefield, Jenny McCarthy, Lowell Hubbs, or any of the other antivaxxers I have profiled on this website actually take a step back and admit that their fears about vaccinations may very well have been unsubstantiated all along?

Sadly - I doubt we will ever know, because if there is one thing we have shown time and time again it is that antivaxxers never admit when they are wrong... they simply practice goalpost relocation as they move on to the next unsupportable and unscientific theory.  Unfortunately for them, the curtain is slowly being pulled back to expose them for what they really are, and once you look beyond the celebrity pitchmen and magical treatments, you soon realize there is no evidence or science to support their viewpoints.  This is why, for all intents and purposes, the antivaxxer viewpoint is essentially unsustainable, because at the end of the day the evidence and science speaks for itself.

CDC: Autism Rate is Now 1 in 88

This story hit the wire late last week and of course the Autism community has been all over it - for good reason.  There is a lot of commentary coming out and unfortunately just as much speculation and fear-mongering to match.  Because of this, it is important to discuss the facts.

• According to the data, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC), indicates that roughly one out of every 88 American children are considered autistic. This includes children which have a condition such as Aspergers Syndrome which is considered an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

• This most recent report is based upon data from 2008 that was collected from 14 communities and involved a total of 337,093 eight-year-old children.  Because of this sample size and the fact the data sample is several years old, it is possible the actual national rate could be higher or lower than the rate reported.

• Reported rates vary greatly from a high of one in 47 in Utah to a low of one in 210 in Alabama.  Experts said that variation likely reflected differences in awareness of the disorder (meaning how often it is recognized and/or diagnosed) rather than any true "hot spots" of autism.  It is also important to understand these rates do not mirror vaccination rates (a bit of a preemptive strike against those who will make unsubstantiated claims pertaining to vaccines causing autism).  In fact, in some cases such as the MMR and Rotavirus vaccines, vaccination rates in Alabama are actually higher than they are in Utah.  Overall the vaccination rates between the states is not statistically significant and bears no connection to the reported rates of autism.  (Refer to Table 2, pg 1174)  Sorry antivaxxers.

• From 2002 to 2008, the largest rate increases were among Hispanic (110%) and African-American (91%) children.  Yet white children are still at greater risk for being diagnosed with autism.  For the vaccine conspiracy theorists out there (aka Lowell Hubbs and his ilk), it is also important to note that vaccination rates have not changed significantly during this time period, not to mention that there is no significant difference in vaccination rates across races.  Sorry again antivaxxers - maybe it is time you developed a new theory?

• There is no definitive test to prove whether a child has autism.  Instead, physicians make their diagnosis based upon criteria laid out in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, or DSM.  These criteria have changed with time, again prompting many to suggest the perceived increase is not a "real" increase, but rather an increased based upon better diagnosis and recognition.

• CDC Director Thomas Frieden stated that "doctors have gotten better at diagnosing the condition and communities have gotten better at providing services, so I think we can say it is possible that the increase is the result of better detection."

Regardless of your take on the matter, it does seem clear we are getting better at diagnosing autism, and overall awareness is at an all time high.  Researchers continue to focus on autism, and data like this helps to keep autism at the forefront where hopefully it can attract additional funding for research, treatments, and perhaps one day an actual cure.

As I said previously there is a lot of commentary regarding this data at the time being, and I'll be adding additional data as further analysis is performed.  There are a lot of statistics available for analysis here, so I hope those with a vested interest take their time to review everything thoroughly and within the proper context before leaping to conclusions.

The moral of the story is, even though the headline makes it appear that the number of autistic children in our nation seems to be growing rapidly, all available data seems to add credence to the opinion that this growth is merely due to increased awareness and more accurate diagnoses.  In years past a child may have been simply considered to be "unique", or "reserved".  Often they were considered "strange" or a "loner".  In some cases these children were difficult to handle or even considered to be troublemakers, and in rare cases the child was simply written off as having a mental disorder or even simply referred to as "slow".  As physicians, teachers, therapists, and parents become better at recognizing the symptoms of autism hopefully we can become better at identifying it, and with identification can come treatment.

The original article that referenced the CDC data can be found here: Yahoo Shine - CDC: Autism Rate is Now 1 in 88.