The Cutter Incident: How America's First Polio Vaccine Led to the Growing Vaccine Crisis.THE CUTTER INCIDENT The cutter incident refers to a mistake made by Cutter Laboratories in 1955 which cause several thousand children to be exposed to live polio virus when being vaccinated. Several hundred contracted mild to severe forms of polio and at least 10 died. : How America's First Polio Vaccine Two polio vaccines are used throughout the world to combat polio. The first was developed by Jonas Salk, first tested in 1952, and announced to the world by Salk on April 12, 1955. It consists of an injected dose of inactivated (dead) poliovirus. Led to the Growing Vaccine Crisis No single medical advance, Offit notes, has had a greater impact on improving human health than vaccines have. Yet today, only four companies in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. make vaccines, and little research is devoted to developing new vaccines. This shortage of effort can be blamed in large part on the tragic 1955 Cutter incident, named for the laboratory that inadvertently distributed a polio vaccine containing dis ease-causing virus. As a result, 700,000 children contracted polio, 200 were permanently paralyzed par·a·lyze tr.v. par·a·lyzed, par·a·lyz·ing, par·a·lyz·es 1. To affect with paralysis; cause to be paralytic. 2. To make unable to move or act: paralyzed by fear. , and 10 died. Offit describes the events leading up to this incident and the court case that eventually found Cutter Laboratories Cutter Laboratories was a pharmaceutical company located in Berkeley, California. In 1955 Cutter Labs was one of several companies licensed by the United States government to produce Salk polio vaccine. financially liable for the harm caused by its product. Offit notes that while the tragedy led to positive changes in the way in which vaccines are developed and regulated, the legal fallout has had a chilling effect on the development of potentially lifesaving drugs. Yale Univ. Press, 2005, 256 p., b&w photos, hardcover, $27,50. |
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