Health

Via JREF, it seems that the Nightingale Collaboration is having an effect.

"Evidence emerged this week that alternative medicine practitioners in England are feeling considerable pain caused by the ongoing work of skeptical activists.

"Bastion of science Sir Paul Callaghan

http://www.endohealth.co.nz/ - is selling such items as Homoeopathic immunisation and "travel kits" which offer such remedies as "Natrium Muriaticum 200C Nat Mur - This will protect against all types of Malaria...." and Remedy "Haemophilus 200" and disease "H I B" (this abbreviation is for Haemophilus influenzae type B which causes severe pneumonia and meningitis in infants).

ACUPUNCTURE has been shown to be extremely effective amongst people who have nothing wrong with them. An academic study has shown that the majority of patients reporting mystery symptoms stopped pretending they had them when someone poked at them with a cocktail stick.

With any historical material as a whole you have to rely that the account given by the historian is an accurate account and reflect the historical record fairly. In most cases, this is done and there have been many excellent writings on any particular topic. The problem is when they don't it can be difficult to tell with revisionist historical accounts which is the factual material and which isn't or whether the topic is represented fairly.

In order to carry on with the theme of

Vaccine Awareness Week,

this post intends to selectively address some of the "talking points" made by anti-vaccination groups, mainly addressing misinformation about the immune system. If you know of any more facts, add them in the comments with appropriate links.

"Natural immunity is far superior to artificial immunity."

Natural immunity

Anti-vaccination group stripped of status

A CONTROVERSIAL NSW-based anti-vaccination group has been stripped of its charitable status after the state government found its appeals had not been conducted in good faith.

The Australian Vaccination Network (AVN) was ordered in July to publish a disclaimer on its website stating the group was anti-vaccination and its material shouldn't be read as medical advice.

The complaint filed with the HCCC against the AVN by Ken McLeod and Toni & David MacCaffery has been upheld. While this is a big win for rationality the next question is will the AVN follow through with the ruling? Does the HCCC have teeth?

The New South Wales Health Care Complaints Commission

The Kahui twins died of natural causes according to a controversial medical opinion given to the coroner for an upcoming inquest into their deaths.