When EPA proposed new air pollution standards last November, we were told more stringent standards were necessary because, among other reasons, childhood asthma had increased dramatically over the prior 15 years; air pollution was declared to be the cause.
Then it came to light that air pollution levels had dramatically decreased while asthma was on the rise.
Then an article in Science hypothesized that, since asthma is largely a disease of western civilization, perhaps the increase in asthma was due to our "western" immune systems being less-and-less developed. After all, asthma is an immune system response.
Then a study in The New England Journal of Medicine reported that asthma in urban children could be caused by cockroach allergen. In the study, one third of urban children were found to be allergic to cockroach allergen and 50 percent of those children had high levels in their bedrooms.
And now, a study from New Zealand reports that infant immunization may be a risk factor for childhood asthma.
Among a population of 1,265 children born in 1977 that are part of the Christchurch Health and Development Study: 23 percent of the children who were immunized for diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus (DPT) and polio had asthma episodes; none of the children who received no immunization had asthma episodes.
Although the study is small and the results can only be viewed perhaps as reason for further research, they do fit a pattern that conflicts with the EPA-declared "truth."
Lucky for us, scientific knowledge will move ahead. Unfortunately, EPA will likely choose to remain stuck in November 1996.
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Copyright © 1997 Steven J. Milloy. All rights reserved. Site developed and hosted by WestLake Solutions, Inc.