Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccines May Cause Rare Cases of Death

by | Apr 12, 2016 | 2012, Pharmaceutical Hazards, Vaccines, Women's Health

Written by Joyce Smith, BS.  This study shows how Gardasil HPV vaccine may potentially cause autoimmune reactions, stroke and even death.

Vaccines may cause adverse reactions and even death. Serious adverse reactions (ADR’s) such as auto immunity or neurological disorders are occurring, yet their association with a vaccine can be difficult to prove. Symptoms don’t always occur immediately following a vaccination; they may take days to manifest. Nor do they always fit the typical picture of an autoimmune or neurological disorder. 1 Consequently the medical community may overlook the possibility of a vaccine triggering an adverse reaction and fail to report it. 2

In 2006, the FDA licensed the quadrivalent human papilloma virus (qHPV) vaccine, and gave it a fast-track approval as soon as follow-up studies deemed it safe. 3 However, careful scrutiny of safety trials now reveal important flaws in the design, reporting, and interpretation of these studies. 4,5

Do HPV vaccinations cause serious autoimmune and neurological ADR’s or are these occurrences mere coincidence? This study investigates the cause of death of two young women who were vaccinated with the Gardasil vaccine. It suggests that the vaccine may pose a risk of fatal autoimmune reactions involving the blood vessels in the brain.

Researchers examined the autopsy results of two young women who died following vaccination with the HPV vaccine Gardasil. No anatomical, microbiological or toxicological findings could be found to explain their deaths. However, when researchers carefully analyzed their post-mortem brain tissue specimens they found evidence of immune activity and inflammation indicating a severe vasculitis. They also analyzed brain sections for the presence of antibodies to the HPV antigens in Gardasil.

Results showed that the Gardasil HPV-16L1 antigen triggered antibodies, which attacked the blood vessel walls of the brain producing severe inflammation. 6,7 Adjuvants are substances that are added to a vaccine to increases the body’s immune response it. The adjuvant in Gardasil contains nanoparticles of aluminum that are small enough to cross the blood brain barrier. Animal studies show that after vaccine injection these aluminum adjuvant nanoparticles accumulate in the brain and cause a potentially life threatening autoimmune reaction. 8 This reaction can destroy blood vessels, cause bleeding into surrounding brain tissue, strokes and even death.

Vaccines are designed to hyper-stimulate levels of antibody production that are much higher than antibody levels reached from a natural infection and thus carry a greater risk for autoimmune damage. For example, Gardasil produces sustained antibody levels in the blood for the HPV-16L1 antigen that is more than 10 times higher than antibody levels present in a natural HPV infection. 9 Molecular mimicry (when a vaccine antigen resembles a host antigen) is considered by medical science to be a mechanism by which vaccines may trigger autoimmune diseases. Unfortunately researchers found that most investigations following adverse reactions to Gardasil were very limited in scope and did not consider molecular mimicry as a possible cause.

Researchers conclude that the HPV vaccines containing HPV-16L1 antigens can potentially trigger a fatal autoimmune vasculitis with brain hemorrhaging and stoke. They add that many symptoms of adverse reactions to Gardasil vaccinations are similar to those of a cerebral vasculitis and are overlooked when reported to vaccine safety surveillance databases. These symptoms include intense headaches, dizziness, syncope, seizures, tremors and tingling, myalgia, locomotor abnormalities, psychotic symptoms and cognitive and language deficits. 10 Since it is now evident that Gardasil may trigger a fatal autoimmune vasculitis it is very important that doctors are aware of this association. Therefore researchers suggest that sudden deaths that occur following Gardasil vaccinations should be investigated with the same diligence presented in this study.

Source: Tomljenovic, Lucija, and C. A. Shaw. “Death after quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination: causal or coincidental.” Pharmaceut Reg Affairs S 12 (2012): 2-001.

© 2012 Tomljenovic L, et al. Creative Commons Attribution License

Click here to read the full text study.

Posted December 31, 2015.

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