Under Freedom of Information legislation, the CDC has released data that “proves unequivocally that in 2000, CDC officials were informed internally of the very high risk of autism, non-organic sleep disorder and speech disorder associated with thimerosal exposure,” said CDC epidemiologist Thomas Verstraeten. Thimerosal is a preservative that contains mercury included in most vaccines until 1999 in the US, and is still used in small quantities in many flu shots today.

It appears that the 7.6 times raised risk was known throughout the CDC, and a 1999 paper referring to it was published only after it had been approved at the highest levels of the organisation.

Despite this, the CDC’s official line has always been that the vaccines are safe, and that thimerosal doesn’t increase the risk of autism.

The data analysed the health of around 400,000 who were vaccinated between 1991 and 1997 in the US. It was released following more than a hundred requests made by Dr Brian Hooker, a scientist, who had been helped by two Congressmen in his campaign.

Dr Hooker, an associate professor at Simpson University where he specializes in biology and chemistry, says: “We must ensure that this and other evidence of CDC malfeasance are presented to Congress and the public as quickly as possible. Time is of the essence; children’s futures are at stake.”