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yongrel
05-29-2008, 06:04 PM
Common bacteria linked to cot death
00:01 30 May 2008
NewScientist.com news service
Jason Palmer
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14014-common-bacteria-linked-to-cot-death.html

There is more reason than ever to believe that two common bacteria are part of the cause of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), commonly called cot death.

While many factors contributing to the risk for SIDS have been identified, the mechanism of its cause has remained a mystery. A link to bacterial infections was proposed decades ago, but evidence of the bacteria in SIDS victims has remained scarce.

Now, a team of researchers from the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children has shown that specific bacteria are more prevalent in SIDS babies.

The team went over the results of autopsies of more than 500 infants who died aged between one week and one year. They then compared the rate of infection by the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli in infants whose cause of death was known, and those in SIDS babies.

What they found was that 26% of the autopsies in the explained cases showed infection by the bacteria, whereas in the SIDS cases, the rate of infection was nearly twice that.
Not a diagnostic

"What's good about this is it's a large study at one institution where all the cases were investigated in the same way, so it's enabled us to really provide harder evidence," says Marian Malone, one of the study's co-authors.

The prevalence of the bacteria is certainly indicative of a connection with cause of death, but their presence even in explained deaths means that a test for them cannot be used as a diagnostic – or as evidence for or against other explanations for deaths.

George Haycock, scientific adviser to the UK's Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths , warns that there isn't just one answer to the SIDS mystery.

"This is certainly not the cause of SIDS, which is almost certainly multifactorial," he says. "Even in the cases where no cause can be identified, there may be multiple factors operating."
Toxin theory

The role of the bacteria in the so-called bacterial toxin theory could tie some of those multiple factors together. The idea is that the bacteria grow in the upper respiratory tract of babies, releasing toxins that are the ultimate cause of death.

"It's a theory that would fit the facts," Malone says. "We know that prone sleeping – sleeping on the front – can increase the number of pathogenic organisms in the upper airway. We know that if the mother has been smoking during pregnancy, it can alter the immune response [to toxins]."

Even the genetic differences among SIDS babies are related to immune response. The theory, Malone says, could tie a lot of things together.

"It's another piece of evidence fitting in with lots of other evidence that has been gathering, pointing to these bacteria," says Jim Morris, a pathologist at the Royal Infirmary, Lancaster, UK. "None of this is proof positive, but it's another important step to understanding what’s going on."

Journal reference: The Lancet, vol 371, p 1848

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But wait! I thought SIDS was caused by vaccines!:rolleyes:

Ninja Homer
05-30-2008, 02:05 AM
But wait! I thought SIDS was caused by vaccines!:rolleyes:

That article doesn't say that it isn't. Just because something is linked to something doesn't mean it's the cause of it. This study shows that staph and E-coli infections may be a symptom of SIDS, but not the cause.

In fact, the article says, "(Staph and E-coli bacteria) is certainly not the cause of SIDS..."

Staph and E-coli bacteria are everywhere. I guarantee there's some in your digestive tract right now. A healthy baby with a healthy immune system can easily fight off these bacteria.

What this study shows is that the cause of SIDS may be an improperly functioning immune system. To get to the root cause of the problem, they'll need to figure out why SIDS babies' immune systems aren't functioning properly. It could be vaccines, it could be something else, or it could be a combination of things.

orafi
05-30-2008, 10:05 AM
That article doesn't say that it isn't. Just because something is linked to something doesn't mean it's the cause of it. This study shows that staph and E-coli infections may be a symptom of SIDS, but not the cause.

In fact, the article says, "(Staph and E-coli bacteria) is certainly not the cause of SIDS..."

Staph and E-coli bacteria are everywhere. I guarantee there's some in your digestive tract right now. A healthy baby with a healthy immune system can easily fight off these bacteria.

What this study shows is that the cause of SIDS may be an improperly functioning immune system. To get to the root cause of the problem, they'll need to figure out why SIDS babies' immune systems aren't functioning properly. It could be vaccines, it could be something else, or it could be a combination of things.

This is what I be thinking.

FindLiberty
05-30-2008, 11:23 AM
Me be thinking ...reaction to adjuvant(s) in those vaccinations.

Poor little buggers don't get to grow up, pay taxes and fight for Liberty.