The panic virus : a true story of medicine, science, and fear / Seth Mnookin

Includes bibliographical references (p. 373-410) and index.

The spotted pimple of death -- Milkmaids and fear of modernity -- The polio vaccine : from medical miracle to public health catastrophe -- Fluoride scares and swine flu scandals -- Vaccine roulette -- Autism, SIDS, and society -- Help! there are fibers growing out of my eyeballs! -- Enter Andrew Wakefield -- The Lancet paper -- Thimerosal and the mystery of Minamata's dancing cats -- The mercury moms -- Black swans and the speed of light : a brief history of science -- The media and its messages -- Mark Geier, witness for hire -- The case of Michelle Cedillo -- Cognitive biases and availability cascades -- How to turn a lack of evidence into evidence of harm -- A conspiracy of dunces -- Autism speaks -- Katie Wright's accidental manifesto -- Jenny McCarthy's mommy instinct -- Medical NIMBYism and faith-based metaphysics -- Baby Brie -- Casualties of a war built on lies.

In 1998 Andrew Wakefield, a British gastroenterologist with a history of self-promotion, published a paper with a shocking allegation: the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine might cause autism. The media seized hold of the story and, in the process, helped to launch one of the most devastating health scares ever. In the years to come Wakefield would be revealed as a profiteer in league with class-action lawyers, and he would eventually lose his medical license. Meanwhile one study after another failed to find any link between childhood vaccines and autism. Yet the myth that vaccines somehow cause developmental disorders lives on. Despite the lack of corroborating evidence, it has been popularized by media personalities such as Oprah Winfrey and Jenny McCarthy and legitimized by journalists who claim that they are just being fair to both sides of an issue about which there is little debate. Meanwhile millions of dollars have been diverted from potential breakthroughs in autism research, families have spent their savings on ineffective miracle cures, and declining vaccination rates have led to outbreaks of deadly illnesses like Hib, measles, and whooping cough. Most tragic of all is the increasing number of children dying from vaccine-preventable diseases. InThe Panic VirusSeth Mnookin draws on interviews with parents, public-health advocates, scientists, and anti-vaccine activists to tackle a fundamental question: How do we decide what the truth is? The fascinating answer helps explain everything from the persistence of conspiracy theories about 9/11 to the appeal of talk-show hosts who demand that President Obama prove he was born in America.