Published: August 07, 2009 12:42 am      

LETTERS: Aug. 7, 2009

To our legislators:

It has been brought to my attention that Baxter International — a major multinational pharmaceutical company which has now received contracts from nations all around the world to produce and distribute a new swine flu (H1N1) vaccine — is under suspicion for the following reasons:

1. In February, 2009, Baxter’s Austrian branch sent batches of what was supposed to be human influenza (H3N2) vaccine to 18 different European countries. These countries were to use these vaccine samples to produce human flu vaccines for their populations. One country, the Czech Republic, tested these batches and found them to be contaminated with live Avian influenza virus (H5N1 — bird flu). Had this vaccine been administered to people prior to this contamination being discovered, it could have caused a deadly pandemic.

2. Baxter had been given stocks of Avian influenza virus by the U.S. government so it could work on producing a vaccine against any future outbreak of this disease. This virus was provided to them under the condition that they would adhere to the required Biosafety Level 3 strict controls. Had these controls been followed, this sort of contamination would have been impossible. There are only 2 conclusions one can draw from the fact that this contamination event took place.

Either Baxter was incredibly careless with their procedures causing an accidental contamination which then, incredibly, was allowed to get out into millions of doses of vaccine before anyone noticed; or the contamination was intentional and it was only a matter of luck and good due diligence on the part of the Czech officials that this was caught before anyone received the contaminated vaccine lots.

3. The outbreak of swine flu (H1N1) which has led the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare the highest possible level of pandemic awareness — Level 6 — began in Mexico City — right near a Baxter Labs facility which was working on experimental flu vaccine. This might be no more than a coincidence were it not for the fact that on Aug. 28, 2008, Baxter Labs filed for a patent (#US20090060950A1) on H1N1 virus — almost a full year before this outbreak occurred or H1N1 had ever been heard of. This patent demonstrates that Baxter was working on a vaccine which would have been composed of several different types of viruses including human, pig, dog, horse and avian flu. Is it too much to expect that the company which sent out contaminated flu vaccines in February could not have done exactly the same thing several months later in May?

The New Zealand Minister of Health, Tony Ryall, has asked Ministry of Health officials to urgently advise him on issues raised about a swine flu vaccine produced by Baxter International Inc. There is grave concern that due to the past record of contamination and errors made by Baxter Labs, none of their vaccines can be trusted.

As a concerned citizen, I agree that there is cause to question Baxter’s products and hope that you will also see that there are very serious outcomes possible if a pharmaceutical company, which has been given a contract to make vaccines which will protect health, instead distributes vaccines which spread disease and possibly, even cause death.

It is my will that you do everything within your power to call for a public and transparent investigation of this situation and that any vaccines produced by Baxter International should be thoroughly examined by an independent laboratory for any evidence of contamination with adventitious viruses or bacteria and that the results of this investigation be made public as a matter of urgency.

— Raymond F. Davis, Jeffersonville

References:

• Baxter Sent Bird Flu Virus to European Labs by Error

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aTo3LbhcA75I

• Baxter Pharmaceutical Plant in Mexico — Ground Zero for Flu Outbreak

http://ahrcanum.wordpress.com/2009/05/05/baxter-pharmaceutical-plant-in-mexico-ground-zero-for-flu-outbreak/

• Letter Sparks Investigation of Baxter Vaccine by New Zealand Minister of Health

http://www.naturalnews.com/026571_Baxter_New_Zealand_health.html