Sir, - Reading Carol Coulter's piece, "Pathologist calls for a thorough scrutiny of sudden child death" (August 23rd), I noted that the various explanations seemed to blame the parents, except that "some sudden infant deaths were not due to asphyxia and were apparently inexplicable." The clear implication, however, was that - whatever the reason - these tragic deaths could certainly not be attributable to current medical practices.
In a paper presented by Dr Viera Scheibnerova and Leif Karlsson at an immunisation conference in Canberra, Australia, in 1991, we get a rather different perspective. Researchers monitored episodes of apnea (cessation of breathing) and hypopnea (abnormally shallow breathing) both before and after DPT vaccinations. The data indicate that DPT vaccines cause an extraordinary increase in the near or complete cessation of breathing. These respiratory patterns continue periodically for months following vaccination. The conclusion: "(DPT) vaccination is the single most prevalent and most preventable cause of infant deaths."
If the medical establishment and the media wish to keep the public - and especially parents - properly informed, why is this kind of information not being made generally available? It seems to me that those who are truly concerned and have responsibility for the well being of our children would not want to hush up this kind of information. - Yours, etc.,
Myles Crowe,
Seapoint, Co Dublin.