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Garbage viruses and DNA in vaccines
Vaccines are currently produced using fertilized chicken eggs, cell culture or a
combination of egg and cell culture. An ‘attenuated’ vaccine is created from a
pathogen by reducing its virulence, but still keeping it viable, in contrast to
those produced by ‘killing’ the virus (inactivated vaccine). Inactivation is
done by selecting non-pathogenic strains of the pathogen after treatment such as
heat or cold culture, or targeted deletion of virulence genes.
Many live attenuated vaccines are produced using cell culture. A number of
such vaccines have been found to contain not only the live attenuated viral
pathogen but also contaminating viruses or viral nucleic acid [1]. These
contaminants are garbage, and people administering such vaccines should inform
patients of potential risks associated with the garbage. Recently, the United
States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) acknowledged the contamination of the
live attenuated rotavirus vaccine (to prevent traveller’s diarrhoea) and
suspended the vaccine, but later decided that the benefits of the vaccination
outweigh potential contamination risks [2]. The FDA opinion is premature
because the circovirus contaminating the vaccine is active in replication,
transcription and translation of viral genes and able to produce toxic products.
Contaminated vaccines are not isolated cases, they are widespread.
Lessons
from SV40 contaminated vaccines
Simian virus 40 (SV40) is a monkey virus inadvertently administered to human
populations in contaminated vaccines produced in SV40-infected monkey cells.
Molecular biology and epidemiological studies suggest that SV40 may be
contagiously transmitted in humans by horizontal infection, independently of the
earlier administration of SV40-contaminated vaccines. In humans, SV40 has been
found associated at high prevalence with specific tumour types such as brain and
bone tumours, mesotheliomas and lymphomas and with kidney diseases [3]. SV40 was
discovered as a contaminant of poliovirus vaccine lots distributed to millions
of individuals in the United States between 1955 and 1963; and contaminated
vaccine batches were later circulated worldwide. After SV40 was observed to
cause animal and human cell transformations in culture, and tumour formations in
animals, researchers began to search for SV40 in human cancers [4]. For example,
a 2005 study undertaken in Costa-Rica showed that SV40 is significantly
associated with cancers of the immune system [5]. US FDA acknowledges that the
SV 40 virus (simian virus 40 from monkey kidney cells) was in the early polio
vaccines and its risks [6]: “The experience in the early 1960s with SV40
contamination of poliovirus and adenovirus vaccines and the continuing questions
regarding whether SV40 could be responsible for some human neoplasms [cancers]
underscores the importance of keeping viral vaccines free of adventitious
agents. “ (See also
Flu Vaccines and the Risk of Cancer, SiS 44 [7]). SV40 contamination
of polio vaccines is an old lesson that seems to have been ignored in the
current rush to profit from manufacturing vaccines.
Numerous vaccines for
humans are contaminated
There are numerous cases of documented contaminated vaccines intended for humans
[1]. Measles vaccine Attenuvax grown in chicken embryo fibroblast cells was
contaminated with Avian leucosis (myeloid leucosis cancer virus) and avian
endogenous retrovirus. Yellow fever vaccine YFvax grown in chicken embryo
fibroblast cells was contaminated with avian endogenous retrovirus. Herpes 3
vaccine Varivax grown in MRC-5 human cells from aborted foetuses was
contaminated with human endogenous retrovirus K. Rota virus vaccine Rotarix
grown in Vero E6 (African green monkey ) cells was contaminated with with
porcine circovirus 1 and porcine circovirus 2. Rotavirus Rotateq vaccine grown
in Vero (African monkey) cells had Baboon endogenous retrovirus as contaminant.
Measles mumps vaccine MMR II grown in chicken fibroblast cells had Avian
endogenous retrovirus and human endogenous retrovirus K as contaminants; and
Rubella vaccine grown in WI-38 human diploid lung fibroblast cells was
contaminated with Human endogenous retrovirus K. Rubella vaccine meruvax II
grown in WI-38 human lung fibroblast cells contained human endogenous
retrovirus-K.
Veterinary vaccines are similarly contaminated. The genomes of all animal
species are colonized by endogenous retroviruses (ERVs). Although most ERVs have
accumulated defects that render them incapable of replication, fully infectious
ERVs have been identified in various mammals. A feline infectious ERV (RD-114w)
was isolated from many live attenuated vaccines for pets. Isolation of RD-114
was done independently in two laboratories using different detection strategies
and from vaccines for both cats and dogs commercially available in Japan or the
UK. The study shows that the methods currently employed to screen veterinary
vaccines for retroviruses are inadequate and should be re-evaluated [8]. Tests
of veterinary vaccines for viral contamination in Hungary found that a
torquetenovirus (TTV), a very small circular single stranded DNA virus, was
present in many vaccines including avian vaccines. The presence of any
extraneous agent may have a significant impact on the safety of the vaccine [9].
A rogues’ gallery of vaccine contaminating viruses and DNA
Avian leukosis (myeloid leukosis cancer virus)
Avian leukosis virus (ALV-J) appears to be a recombinant of an exogenous
avian leukosis virus (ALV) with an envelope (env) gene probably originating from
an endogenous (subgroup E) ALV. ALV-J can infect cell cultures from other avian
species, but not mammalian cells. No genetically resistant meat-type strain of
chickens has been found to date. Commercial Leghorn chickens appear to be
resistant to tumour development, but they may be susceptible to infection. Most
tumours associated with ALV-J infection are expressed as myeloblastomas or
myelocytomas [10]. Even though the bird cancer virus does not appear to infect
mammals, the persistent exposure of young human may select mutations of the
virus that are virulent in people; and virulent recombinants can always be
created with endogenous human viruses.
Avian endogenous retrovirus
Avian endogenous retrovirus (AER) are a highly diverse group comprising many
inserts into the chicken genome. There are three families of such endogenous
retroviruses, related respectively to avian sarcoma or leukosis cancer virus,
mouse leukemia viruses, and human endogenous retroviruses. Most of the AER are
dormant in the chicken chromosomes, but several are active and capable of making
RNA transcripts [11]. The active transcripts may replicate by reverse
transcription and recombine with related viruses.
Human endogenous retrovirus K
Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are suspects in some autoimmune
diseases, in particular, multiple sclerosis; a member of the family of human
endogenous retrovirus W has been identified as “MS-associated retrovirus” (MSRV).
HERVs comprise nearly 8 percent of the human genome, with 98 000 elements and
fragments [11]; all appear to be defective, containing nonsense mutations or
major deletions, and cannot produce infectious virus particles. Most are
remnants of viruses that integrated many millions of years ago. However, one
family – HERV-K (comprising less than 1 percent of HERV elements) - have been
active since the divergence of humans and chimpanzees, and is one of the most
studied. There are indications it has even been active in the past few hundred
thousand years, as some human individuals carry more copies of the virus. The
lack of elements with a full coding potential within the published human genome
sequence suggests that the family is less likely to be active at present [6].
HERV-K contaminants in vaccines should not be considered innocuous as they may
recombine with related viruses or with viral sequences in the human chromosome.
Baboon endogenous retrovirus
Baboon endogenous retrovirus (BERV) is a inactivated retroviral sequence.
BERVs are also found in the African green monkey [12]. BERV circulating in the
bloodstream of humans could conceivably mutate and recombine to form a virus
that could spread rapidly in the human population because the virus is new to
the immune repertoire of the human.
Feline infectious ERV (RD-114)
An infectious endogenous retrovirus was discovered in live attenuated
vaccine for cats and dogs. EVR RD-114 is related to other oncogenic virus such
as feline leuekemia virus and mouse leukemia virus 83 [12].
Porcine circovirus 1 and porcine circovirus 2
The pig circoviruses are small circular single stranded DNA viruses. Type 1
virus does not cause illness in pigs while type 3 virus causes a serious wasting
disease of young pigs. The viruses are frequently found infecting mammalian cell
lines. Circovirus type 1 and type 2 infect many human cell types. Type 1 virus
proliferates without causing distinct cell damage while type 2 virus does [13].
Type 2 virus causes cytoskeleton rearrangements in dendritic cells, leading to
immunosuppression [14]. Porcine circovirus is lodged in the cell nucleus where
it is replicated. Replication is by a rolling circle mechanism where the single
stranded viral chromosomes are rolled off a double stranded replicative master.
The virus is so small that it only has room for a few genes including two genes
for initiating DNA replication along with genes for nuclear localization and
viral coat protein and a few genes for virulence [15]. The host cell nucleus
provides the enzymes for DNA replication [16].
Torquetenovirus (TTV)
Torquetenoviruses (TTVs) are vertebrate infecting, single-stranded circular
DNA viruses. Two genetically distinct TTV groups (TTV1 and TTV2) infect swine
worldwide with high prevalence. Currently, swine TTVs are considered
non-pathogenic, although TTV2 has been linked to post-weaning multisystemic
wasting syndrome, a porcine circovirus disease TTV replicates similarly to the
circovirus but is much smaller than the circovirus [17]. TTV is often presumed
to be non-pathogenic, and is distributed widely among mammals including humans.
TTV infection is widely dispersed in the human population and the virus has been
found to accumulate in the central nervous system and implicated in dementia
[18]. Children with recurrent pneumonia have been found to lack ciliary
motility associated with high level infection of ciliarycells with TTV [19].
To conclude
Human and veterinary vaccines have been found contaminated with wide array of
viruses that are deemed harmless or less risky than the attenuated live virus of
the vaccine. These contaminating garbage viruses are nowhere near as well
investigated than they should have been prior to the commercialization of the
vaccines. The contaminating garbage viruses are deemed harmless because they do
not elicit sera conversion (production of antibody) even though the garbage
viruses frequently produce proteins that are toxic in specific tissues. The
contaminating garbage vaccines are actively cytotoxic in some cases, and
potentially so in other cases by mutation or recombination to create new
retroviruses that are life threatening. Among the garbage viruses, the small
circular single stranded DNA viruses deserve special attention as they are so
widespread in the human and animal populations. Such widespread dispersal of TTV
and circoviruses could cause disaster. The first step in dealing with the
garbage viruses is to provide informed consent to those being vaccinated with
contaminated vaccines. The second is to carry out post-release monitoring for
potential hazards from mutation and recombination, as highlighted in this
article.