GIST: "The case has highlighted a resurgence in rich countries of the potentially fatal diseases that result from a lack of vitamin D. Irene Scheimberg, the clinical pathologist at the Royal London Hospital who discovered Jayden's rickets, says there is evidence to suggest vitamin D deficiency was to blame for the deaths of two other babies she had examined, and may have contributed to the deaths of the 27 infants she has autopsied in the last few years, including deaths attributed to asthma, viruses and sudden infant death syndrome. In the United Kingdom, cases of childhood rickets have leapt from 147 in 1997 to 762 in 2010. The story may be similar in the United States: A study published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Ga., found that only 5 to 13 percent of breastfed infants and 20 to 37 per cent of formula-fed babies got enough vitamin D to meet the recommended daily dose of 400 international units (IUs) -- or 10 micrograms (Pediatrics). The American Academy of Pediatrics came up with this figure in 2009 and it was endorsed in 2010 by the U.S. Institute of Medicine.
There's no national surveillance of rickets in the United States. "However, hospitalized cases of rickets among infants, indicating severe vitamin D deficiency, do continue to be reported," says Cria Perrine, lead author of the CDC study."
THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/sns-201202141930--tms--premhnstr--k-i20120215feb15,0,382627.story
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
