This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citing articles on ISI (4)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related articles  • Similar articles in JAMA  Topic Collections  • Psychiatry  • Adverse Effects  • Alert me on articles by topic

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 117 words of the full text and any section headings.

To the Editor: In their article on the association between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism, Dr Hviid and colleagues¹ acknowledged their affiliations with Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark, but did not disclose that the institute is a for-profit, state-owned enterprise with roughly $120 million in annual revenue. According to its 2002 Annual Report,² vaccines represent approximately one half of Statens Serum Institut's revenues and more than 80% of its profits. Furthermore, Statens Serum Institut manufactured the now discontinued monocomponent pertussis vaccine that contained thimerosal under investigation in their study. They were also the providers of diphtheria and tetanus components of a major thimerosal-containing diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP) vaccine sold in the United States.³

Bernard Rimland, PhD
Autism Research Institute
San Diego, Calif

1. Hviid A, Stellfeld M, Wohlfahrt J, Melbye M. Association between thimerosal-containing vaccine and autism. JAMA. 2003;290:1763-1766. FREE FULL TEXT 2. Statens Serum Institut. 2002 Annual Report. Available at: http://www.ssi.dk/sw3767.asp. Accessed October 12, 2003. 3. Food and Drug Administration. Biologics license application approval letter to North American Vaccine. July 29, 1998. Available at: http://www.fda.gov/cber/approvltr/dtapnor072998L.htm. Accessed October 12, 2003.

Letters Section Editor: Stephen J. Lurie, MD, PhD, Senior Editor.

JAMA. 2004;291:180.

RELATED ARTICLES

Association Between Thimerosal-Containing Vaccine and Autism
Sallie Bernard
JAMA. 2004;291(2):180.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Association Between Thimerosal-Containing Vaccine and Autism—Reply
Anders Hviid and Mads Melbye
JAMA. 2004;291(2):180-181.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Association Between Thimerosal-Containing Vaccine and Autism
Anders Hviid, Michael Stellfeld, Jan Wohlfahrt, and Mads Melbye
JAMA. 2003;290(13):1763-1766.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT