Skip to main content

Advertising Disclaimer »

Main menu

  • Journals
    • Pediatrics
    • Hospital Pediatrics
    • Pediatrics in Review
    • NeoReviews
    • AAP Grand Rounds
    • AAP News
  • Authors/Reviewers
    • Submit Manuscript
    • Author Guidelines
    • Reviewer Guidelines
    • Open Access
    • Editorial Policies
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Online First
    • Archive
    • Blogs
    • Topic/Program Collections
    • AAP Meeting Abstracts
  • Pediatric Collections
    • COVID-19
    • Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health
    • More Collections...
  • AAP Policy
  • Supplements
    • Supplements
    • Publish Supplement
  • Multimedia
    • Video Abstracts
    • Pediatrics On Call Podcast
  • Subscribe
  • Alerts
  • Careers
  • Other Publications
    • American Academy of Pediatrics

User menu

  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
American Academy of Pediatrics

AAP Gateway

Advanced Search

AAP Logo

  • Log in
  • My Cart
  • Journals
    • Pediatrics
    • Hospital Pediatrics
    • Pediatrics in Review
    • NeoReviews
    • AAP Grand Rounds
    • AAP News
  • Authors/Reviewers
    • Submit Manuscript
    • Author Guidelines
    • Reviewer Guidelines
    • Open Access
    • Editorial Policies
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Online First
    • Archive
    • Blogs
    • Topic/Program Collections
    • AAP Meeting Abstracts
  • Pediatric Collections
    • COVID-19
    • Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health
    • More Collections...
  • AAP Policy
  • Supplements
    • Supplements
    • Publish Supplement
  • Multimedia
    • Video Abstracts
    • Pediatrics On Call Podcast
  • Subscribe
  • Alerts
  • Careers

Discover Pediatric Collections on COVID-19 and Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health

American Academy of Pediatrics
Review Article

An Assessment of Thimerosal Use in Childhood Vaccines

Leslie K. Ball, Robert Ball and R. Douglas Pratt
Pediatrics May 2001, 107 (5) 1147-1154; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.107.5.1147
Leslie K. Ball
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Robert Ball
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
R. Douglas Pratt
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • Comments
Loading

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

Download PDF

Abstract

Background. On July 7, 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the US Public Health Service issued a joint statement calling for removal of thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative, from vaccines. This action was prompted in part by a risk assessment from the Food and Drug Administration that is presented here.

Methods. The risk assessment consisted of hazard identification, dose-response assessment, exposure assessment, and risk characterization. The literature was reviewed to identify known toxicity of thimerosal, ethylmercury (a metabolite of thimerosal) and methylmercury (a similar organic mercury compound) and to determine the doses at which toxicity occurs. Maximal potential exposure to mercury from vaccines was calculated for children at 6 months old and 2 years, under the US childhood immunization schedule, and compared with the limits for mercury exposure developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry, the Food and Drug Administration, and the World Health Organization.

Results. Delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions from thimerosal exposure are well-recognized. Identified acute toxicity from inadvertent high-dose exposure to thimerosal includes neurotoxicity and nephrotoxicity. Limited data on toxicity from low-dose exposures to ethylmercury are available, but toxicity may be similar to that of methylmercury. Chronic, low-dose methylmercury exposure may cause subtle neurologic abnormalities. Depending on the immunization schedule, vaccine formulation, and infant weight, cumulative exposure of infants to mercury from thimerosal during the first 6 months of life may exceed EPA guidelines.

Conclusion. Our review revealed no evidence of harm caused by doses of thimerosal in vaccines, except for local hypersensitivity reactions. However, some infants may be exposed to cumulative levels of mercury during the first 6 months of life that exceed EPA recommendations. Exposure of infants to mercury in vaccines can be reduced or eliminated by using products formulated without thimerosal as a preservative.

  • thimerosal
  • thiomersal
  • merthiolate
  • vaccine
  • immunization
  • mercury
  • methylmercury
  • ethylmercury
  • adverse event
  • risk assessment
  • Copyright © 2001 American Academy of Pediatrics

Individual Login

Log in
You will be redirected to aap.org to login or to create your account.

Institutional Login

via Institution

You may be able to gain access using your login credentials for your institution. Contact your librarian or administrator if you do not have a username and password.

Log in through your institution

If your organization uses OpenAthens, you can log in using your OpenAthens username and password. To check if your institution is supported, please see this list. Contact your library for more details.

Purchase access

You may purchase access to this article. This will require you to create an account if you don't already have one.

Offer Reprints

PreviousNext
Back to top

Advertising Disclaimer »

In this issue

Pediatrics
Vol. 107, Issue 5
1 May 2001
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author
View this article with LENS
PreviousNext
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on American Academy of Pediatrics.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
An Assessment of Thimerosal Use in Childhood Vaccines
(Your Name) has sent you a message from American Academy of Pediatrics
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the American Academy of Pediatrics web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Request Permissions
Article Alerts
Log in
You will be redirected to aap.org to login or to create your account.
Or Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Citation Tools
An Assessment of Thimerosal Use in Childhood Vaccines
Leslie K. Ball, Robert Ball, R. Douglas Pratt
Pediatrics May 2001, 107 (5) 1147-1154; DOI: 10.1542/peds.107.5.1147

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
An Assessment of Thimerosal Use in Childhood Vaccines
Leslie K. Ball, Robert Ball, R. Douglas Pratt
Pediatrics May 2001, 107 (5) 1147-1154; DOI: 10.1542/peds.107.5.1147
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
Print
Download PDF
Insight Alerts
  • Table of Contents

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • METHODS
    • RESULTS
    • DISCUSSION
    • CONCLUSION
    • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
    • Footnotes
    • REFERENCES
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • Comments

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • Prenatal and Infant Exposure to Thimerosal From Vaccines and Immunoglobulins and Risk of Autism
  • Thimerosal & Neuropsychological Injury: Doubtful
  • Neuropsychological Performance 10 Years After Immunization in Infancy With Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines
  • Mercury Levels in Newborns and Infants After Receipt of Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines
  • Pervasive Developmental Disorders in Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Prevalence and Links With Immunizations
  • The Immunologic Basis for Neonatal Immunizations
  • Thimerosal Exposure in Infants and Developmental Disorders: A Prospective Cohort Study in the United Kingdom Does Not Support a Causal Association
  • Safety of Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines: A Two-Phased Study of Computerized Health Maintenance Organization Databases
  • Thimerosal and the Occurrence of Autism: Negative Ecological Evidence From Danish Population-Based Data
  • Impact of the Thimerosal Controversy on Hepatitis B Vaccine Coverage of Infants Born to Women of Unknown Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Status in Michigan
  • Ethylmercury in Vaccines
  • Effect of Pentavac and measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination on the intestine
  • The Process of Public Policy Formulation: The Case of Thimerosal in Vaccines
  • Real Versus Theoretical: Assessing the Risks and Benefits of Postponing the Hepatitis B Vaccine Birth Dose
  • Balancing Risks and Benefits: Primum non nocere Is Too Simplistic
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Nonpharmacological Interventions for Pediatric Migraine: A Network Meta-analysis
  • Adolescent Risk Behavior Screening and Interventions in Hospital Settings: A Scoping Review
  • Grief and Bereavement in Fathers After the Death of a Child: A Systematic Review
Show more Review Article

Similar Articles

Subjects

  • Infectious Disease
    • Infectious Disease
  • Journal Info
  • Editorial Board
  • Editorial Policies
  • Overview
  • Licensing Information
  • Authors/Reviewers
  • Author Guidelines
  • Submit My Manuscript
  • Open Access
  • Reviewer Guidelines
  • Librarians
  • Institutional Subscriptions
  • Usage Stats
  • Support
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Resources
  • Media Kit
  • About
  • International Access
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement
  • FAQ
  • AAP.org
  • shopAAP
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Instagram
  • Visit American Academy of Pediatrics on Facebook
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Twitter
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Youtube
  • RSS
American Academy of Pediatrics

© 2021 American Academy of Pediatrics