Squalene mischief

I received this anonymous note from a correspondent (I know who he is but he asked for anonymity).

[Dear Prof.],

I’m writing to you because of something I discovered recently, that could have health implications for people injected with the upcoming swine flu vaccine.

Last month I attended an interview for some work at a multi national chemical company in the UK, where I was told that my work would be to purify a product that was currently sought after. The name of the compound is squalene. I was told that after purification, the product would be sent to at least two companies who would use it as a component of their swine flu vaccines.

The method of purification was distillation: Ethyl Benzoate was boiled in a retort at a temperature of 212 degrees Celsius, and this was used to vaporize the squalene, which had been drawn up from its container under a partial vacuum. The more viscous impurities were collected on one side, and the vaporized squalene condensed on the other.

I was told that there were four distillation setups in use, and that each of these could purify 40 litres of squalene over two or three days

I asked two separate employees what the function of the squalene in the vaccine was, and was told 1. It was an excipient – something to make the host’s cells take up the vaccine more efficiently, and 2. That it would “turbocharge” the vaccine, provoking a much greater immune response – an adjuvant.

I am trained as a Biochemist, and this caught my interest, because there is now a body of research that links the injection of squalene into animals, but more importantly, humans, with many serious, long term autoimmune disorders. Some researchers believe that squalene, when injected, will trigger a hyperimmune response, and indeed, there may well be evidence that this a cause (or even the cause) of the so called “Gulf War Syndrome”.

At this stage, if you want some more details from me, I am happy to oblige, but would like to remain anonymous, I hope this information is of interest, if the research is correct, the health consequences of being injected with such a vaccine would be significant.

With best wishes, X