Avian Contaminants
Avian contaminants are viruses from chickens and birds, and particles of egg proteins that are found in vaccines.
September 30, 2019 – Clinical trials with GMO-containing vaccines in Europe: Status and regulatory framework “The possibility to genetically modify micro-organisms to bring immunogenic material (antigens/epitopes) to the human (or animal) immune system to provoke an immune response, provides new hope to producing prophylactic vaccines against HIV, malaria and tuberculosis and emerging diseases. Regulatory requirements associated with the development of genetically-modified organism (GMO)-containing vaccines in Europe add an additional burden to the clinical trial application procedure and to the preparation and initiation of a clinical trial of such vaccines.”
May 2010 – Human and animal vaccine contaminations “The introduction of new techniques of vaccine virus production on cell cultures has lead to safer vaccines, but has not completely removed the risk of virus contamination.” There are several examples of vaccine contamination, for example, contamination of human vaccines against poliomyelitis by SV40 virus from the use of monkey primary renal cells. These incidents have lead the industry to change certain practices and regulatory authorities to develop more stringent and detailed requirements. But the increasing number of target species for vaccines, the diversity of the origin of biological materials and the extremely high number of known and unknown viruses and their constant evolution represent a challenge to vaccine producers and regulatory authorities.
Comment: A 1999 workshop co-sponsored by the FDA and the CBER named “''Evolving Scientific and Regulatory Perspectives on Cell Substrates for Vaccine Development'',” convened government and industry experts to discuss the problems surrounding vaccine contaminants. Researchers agreed that avian retroviruses and reverse transcriptase have long been detected in influenza vaccines and other vaccines made from eggs. What they did not agree upon, however, was the effects these extra viruses may be having on humans, including the possibility that they may be causing cancer.
March 11, 2009 – Adventitious Agents and Vaccines “Current research on emerging infectious diseases may help provide further assurance that new vaccines do not contain adventitious agents. Powerful methods used to discover viruses associated with emerging infectious diseases are also being adapted to ensure that new vaccines (some of which may be produced in novel cell substrates) are free of adventitious agents.” Comment: An admission that the agents have been in the vaccines all along, and they are working to identify and remove them from current products.
January 2003 – Identification and Characterization of Avian Retroviruses in Chicken Embryo-Derived Yellow Fever Vaccines: Investigation of Transmission to Vaccine Recipients “Despite the use of SPF (specific pathogen-free) chicken flocks, low-level reverse transcriptase (RT) activity, an indication of retroviruses, was recently detected in yellow fever vaccines and other chick cell-derived measles and mumps vaccines produced by several manufacturers in Europe and the United States.” Comment: There is a wide difference between “specific pathogen-free” and “pathogen free.” The distinction is so important that in its July 1996 report, the Institutes of Medicine (IOM) acknowledged that “although it is not possible to produce a completely uncontaminated animal, it is possible to produce an animal [or egg] certified to be free of specific pathogens.” Could unidentified pathogens be present in eggs and be passed into the finished product of the current—and the future pandemic—influenza vaccines? Could viruses that are harmless to their animal host be dangerous to humans? This grave concern is more than theoretical because harmful “extra” viruses have been passed on in vaccines before.
April 2001 – Characterization of Endogenous Avian Leukosis Viruses in Chicken Embryonic Fibroblast Substrates Used in Production of Measles and Mumps Vaccines(full text)
Comment: Found in all chicken cell lines, Avian leucosis Virus (ALV) is known to infect large segments of the modern poultry industry and because it is found in all commercial chickens and eggs humans are exposed on a consistent basis. ALV is considered a “parent” virus because it can easily transform into other potentially cancer-causing viruses. Once inside a cell, AVL viruses can transform into other types of viruses, including sarcoma viruses which have been known to cause cancer. One group of researchers who studied the actions of ALV writes, “Serial passage of a retrovirus that does not carry an oncogene, with high frequency, to the emergence of new viruses that can transducer oncogenes”… meaning, given the right conditions, ALV can easily transform into another type of virus known to be related to cancer.
1991 – Regulatory philosophy and acceptability of cells for the production of biologicals. "The function of mutagenicity was mapped in the oncogene of SV40 (gene A); and the DNA of (E) mouse mammary carcinoma virus (MMTV) and avian leukosis virus (ALLV) induced tumors has been found to contain nucleotide sequences that transform 3T3NIH cells but do not carry any viral genetic information."
April 1988 – Serological examination of IgE- and IgG-specific antibodies to egg protein during influenza virus immunization. (pdf) “Although persons who gave a history of allergy to egg or to chicken feathers were excluded, 10-16% of vaccinees possessed higher titres of serum IgE and IgE-specific antibody (RAST) to egg white (F1) allergen before vaccination.”…”Contrary to the IgG response, IgE specific to Fl rose significantly after immunization in a considerable number of vaccinees, the results suggesting that influenza vaccine may play a role in sensitizing an individual to egg protein.
October 1984 – Mutagenic effects of DNA-containing oncogenic viruses and malignant transformation of mammalian cells. “Further studies of the uncommon mutagens, which viruses seem to be, may greatly increase our knowledge of the virus-cell relationship. An understanding of the extent of genetic danger inherent in viruses and live viral vaccines is necessary for practical medicine.”
July 1972 – Yellow fever vaccination, avian leukosis virus, and cancer risk in man. "There is little doubt that most, if not all, of the yellow fever vaccine used during World War II was contaminated with avian viruses, but the extent of the contamination cannot be determined today. Although at that time viruses were known to cause avian leukosis, their presence in chick embryos was unknown. Furthermore, a viral origin of human cancer was considered to be remote. Subsequently, with the immense new understanding of viral oncology, the effects of live vaccines used in the past have come into question.