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Ministry
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Sick
Gulf War veterans were told a blatant LIE when the Ministry of Defense
insisted they were not given a dangerous cocktail of vaccines, the News
of the World can reveal. For
the past 14 years officials have repeatedly claimed there was no
evidence to link the veterans' Gulf War Syndrome illnesses to the jabs
they were given. But
we have seen proof that it was sent an urgent warning about the risk the
injections carried to troops health BEFORE the 1991 conflict - and went
ahead with them anyway. The
alarm was raised by the government's own Deputy Chief Medical Officer,
Dr Jeremy Metters in December 1990 after trials in animals highlighted
the potential dangers of joint whooping cough and anthrax jabs. The
warning was given to Dr. Metters in a fax marked urgent from the
National Institute for Biological Standards and Control.
And he was so concerned, he handwrote a letter to the Ministry
of Defence (MoD) the same day rather than wait for the staff to return
from Christmas leave to type it. He
also revealed that "anxieties" about the joint vaccine had
been raised with the ministry before in the letter, Dr Metters gave
details of tests carried out by the institute and its concern at plans
to give squaddies anthrax and pertussis (whooping cough) vaccinations at
the same time. Severe The
institute warned that animals given the joint jabs suffered "severe
loss of condition and weight loss." It
said: "These findings are preliminary but they do suggest that if
used in man as a combined preparation an enhanced degree of
reactagenicity could occur." This
means there was a greater risk of a bad reaction.
Dr. Metters added: "We have previously discussed the
anxieties my experts have about the simultaneous administration of
anthrax and pertussis vaccine. I
think your medical department needs to be aware of these preliminary
results." Despite
the warning, the MoD carried on giving the joint injection as part of a
series of jabs for Gulf - bound troops.
It was hoped the whooping cough vaccine would act as an
"accelerator", speeding up the effectiveness of the anthrax
jab. Since
then many of the Gulf War Syndrome victims have suffered the symptoms Dr
Metters warned of. But the
MoD is still refusing to accept any link. Former
soldier Alex Izett, 34, has now started a hunger strike in a bid to get
a public enquiry into the issue. Mr
Izett pictured right, who suffers from the bone wasting disease
osteoporosis and arthritis was given the anthrax, whooping cough and
other jabs in readiness for deployment to the Gulf.
But he was never sent. The
former Royal Engineers lance-corporal has seen his health deteriorate
since then. He is now in
the sixth week of his hunger strike, drinking only water and tea at his
home in Bersenbrueck, Germany. He
said: "This is very
difficult but I am prepared to die for this if necessary." Yet
when he raised the plight of Gulf War veterans with the MoD he got a
reply last month denying the Gulf War Syndrome existed - or that
vaccines were to blame for veterans' ill health. The
MoD's Veterans Policy Unit wrote back saying:
"There is no clinical evidence to suggest that the vaccines
given to veterans are a cause of ill health.
No unusual or previously undisclosed immunisations were given
during the Gulf War Conflict. Mice
Mr
Izett said: "Despite
the warning from the deputy chief medical officer the MoD went ahead and
gave the anthrax and whooping cough jabs simultaneously anyway." "So
how can they say no unusual immunisations were given?" But
an MoD spokesman denied that Dr Metters' warning proved they were aware
of the risks of immunisation before the war. He said: "The information contained was not enough to draw a firm conclusion. It referred to preliminary involving mice rather than humans. |
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We
have carried out testing of certain batches of anthrax and whooping
cough vaccine. When each of
the two vaccines, were tested alone they were not associated with the
unusual degree of toxicity. However,
when combined there was evidence of severe loss of condition and weight
in animals. We
have discussed the anxieties my experts have about the simultaneous
administration of anthrax and pertussis vaccine.
You may wish to see the enclosed fax from the National Institute
for Biological Standards and Control which reports on animal studies
they have carried out. I
think your medical department need to be aware of these preliminary
results. The
Government accepts that some veterans of the 1990 / 1991 Gulf Conflict
have become ill and some have died.
However... Gulf veterans' ill health cannot be characterised as a
discrete 'Gulf War Syndrome'. There
is no clinical evidence to suggest that the vaccines given to veterans
are a cause of ill health. |
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