Viera Scheibner
Encyclopedia
Viera Scheibner (real name Viera Scheibnerová) is a retired micropaleontologist
(a branch of geology). From 1958 until 1968 she was assistant professor in the department of geology at Comenius University, Bratislava
. Scheibner has been active in the anti-vaccination field researching, writing and giving lectures on the subject matter of vaccine
s and vaccination
s since her retirement from the Department of Mineral Resources, New South Wales, Australia in 1987.
A great number of doctors, scientists, legal professionals and other critics have questioned her qualifications, research abilities, and honesty.
and Palaeontology published in peer-reviewed journals in Australia and overseas.
In 1953, Scheibner studied medicine for one year at the Medical Faculty (school) of the Czechoslovak state-run Jan Masaryk University in Brno. She did not complete her studies, and obtained no medical qualifications. She then enrolled in the Faculty of Natural Sciences (Geology), and in 1954 transferred to the Comenius University in Bratislava where she graduated in 1958. During 1958–1961, she became a lecturer in the Department of Geology and Palaeontology of the Comenius University, Bratislava
and was also a Senior Lecturer 1962–1967, at the Department of Geology and Palaeontology at Comenius University. Scheibner was awarded a doctorate in Natural Sciences (RNDr.) from the Comenius University in Bratislava in 1964. In 1967–1968 she served as Senior Associate Professor (Docent
) at the Department of Geology and Palaeontology of Jan Amos Comenius University, Bratislava. During her academic career 1958–1968 in Bratislava, she published 35 scientific papers and one monograph concerning the Cretaceous and Jurassic Foraminifera of the Carpathian Klippen Belt
in Slovakia.
In 1968, Scheibner together with her husband Ervín immigrated to Australia and assumed a position as a micro-palaeontologist with the Geological Survey of New South Wales, Department of Mines, later becoming the Department of Mineral Resources. During her employment 1968 to 1987 with the Geological Survey of New South Wales, she held various titles as a research scientist, including principal research scientist until her retirement from the Department of Mineral Resources in 1987.
The primary emphasis of Scheibner's work in Australia with the NSW Department of Mines was the study of the Cretaceous
and Permian
Foraminifera
of the Great Australian Basin in New South Wales
. She also studied the South Australian and Carnarvon Basin
s in Western Australia
, South Africa
and the Indian Peninsula, and the Permian
Foraminifera
of the Sydney Basin
. From 1972 to 1976 Scheibner was invited to participate in the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) conducted under the auspices of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography
, in the Atlantic
and Indian Ocean
s. The results of these studies were published in the Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP); she was also invited to write a Synopsis of Cretaceous Foraminifera of the Indian Ocean, published in a monograph entitled Synopsis of the DSDP in the Indian Ocean.
. She further claimed that when she brought this information to the attention of the medical community, that paediatricians at the “Australian Crib Death Management Center” ceased referring parents to her to obtain a Cotwatch monitor. However, Australia does not use the term “Crib” or the spelling “Center”, and there is no record of such a centre or organisation ever existing.
Scheibner began making public statements of a link between vaccination and SIDS in the early 1990s, and in a book “Vaccination” published in 1993. In the book and subsequently, she has claimed that “vaccination is the single biggest cause of SIDS”. However data shows that since she began making her claims, vaccination rates for Birth to 2-years component of the Immunisation Schedule in Australia increased from 53% in 1990 to 92% in 2006, while SIDS deaths fell by 81% over the same period.
Scheibner claimed that when Japan paused their Pertussis vaccination program in 1974, SIDS deaths disappeared in the country. However, Dr Steven Basser refuted the claim, asserting that the studies Scheibner cited did not support her statements and that she had omitted information [from the studies] which did not support her position, including data showing Japanese Pertussis mortality increased 800% in the five years following the pause in Pertussis vaccination.
Since Scheibner’s claims were made, extensive scientific studies have found vaccination is in fact associated with a halving of the risk of SIDS.
, Whooping Cough and Rubella
pose no danger and are actually beneficial for the development of a child's immune system. She claims that the only reason children die or suffer permanent disability from these diseases is due to medical mismanagement.
, including retinal bleeding, broken bones, fractured skulls and detached retinas are actually caused by vaccination.
In 1997, the Australian Skeptics
awarded her the "Bent Spoon Award
". This award is presented annually to the Australian "perpetrator of the most preposterous piece of pseudoscientific piffle":
Lon Morgan, DC, a chiropractor
, has written a short analysis of her anti-vaccination stance, as well as an examination of Scheibner's claims of a disappearance of SIDS in Japan. He concludes that:
An extensive critique of her claims and qualifications has been published in a 2005 article in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics
. Two of the authors of that article had also previously described Scheibner's book Vaccination: 100 years of orthodox research shows that vaccines represent an assault on the immune system as "highly inaccurate" in a 2000 article in the journal Pediatrics
.
Commissioner William Carter, Q.C., who was hearing a Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission enquiry in which Viera Scheibner was called as a witness, dismissed her claims on the subject of vaccines, saying of her:
In 2001, the Hon Dr Brian Pezzutti
criticised Viera's anti-vaccination campaigning in the NSW Legislative Council, saying:
None of Scheibner's claims in relation to vaccination, SIDS or traumatic infant head injuries have been published in peer-reviewed medical, legal or criminological journals of an accepted international standard.
Micropaleontology
Micropaleontology is the branch of paleontology that studies microfossils.-Microfossils:...
(a branch of geology). From 1958 until 1968 she was assistant professor in the department of geology at Comenius University, Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
. Scheibner has been active in the anti-vaccination field researching, writing and giving lectures on the subject matter of vaccine
Vaccine
A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism, and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe or its toxins...
s and vaccination
Vaccination
Vaccination is the administration of antigenic material to stimulate the immune system of an individual to develop adaptive immunity to a disease. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by many pathogens...
s since her retirement from the Department of Mineral Resources, New South Wales, Australia in 1987.
A great number of doctors, scientists, legal professionals and other critics have questioned her qualifications, research abilities, and honesty.
Education and career
Viera Scheibner was born in Bratislava (formerly Czechoslovakia, now Slovak Republic). During her career, she wrote three books and had over 90 scientific papers on the subject of GeologyGeology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
and Palaeontology published in peer-reviewed journals in Australia and overseas.
In 1953, Scheibner studied medicine for one year at the Medical Faculty (school) of the Czechoslovak state-run Jan Masaryk University in Brno. She did not complete her studies, and obtained no medical qualifications. She then enrolled in the Faculty of Natural Sciences (Geology), and in 1954 transferred to the Comenius University in Bratislava where she graduated in 1958. During 1958–1961, she became a lecturer in the Department of Geology and Palaeontology of the Comenius University, Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
and was also a Senior Lecturer 1962–1967, at the Department of Geology and Palaeontology at Comenius University. Scheibner was awarded a doctorate in Natural Sciences (RNDr.) from the Comenius University in Bratislava in 1964. In 1967–1968 she served as Senior Associate Professor (Docent
Docent
Docent is a title at some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks below professor . Docent is also used at some universities generically for a person who has the right to teach...
) at the Department of Geology and Palaeontology of Jan Amos Comenius University, Bratislava. During her academic career 1958–1968 in Bratislava, she published 35 scientific papers and one monograph concerning the Cretaceous and Jurassic Foraminifera of the Carpathian Klippen Belt
Pieniny Klippen Belt
The Pieniny Klippen Belt is in geology a tectonically and orographically remarkable zone in the Western Carpathians, with a very complex geological structure...
in Slovakia.
In 1968, Scheibner together with her husband Ervín immigrated to Australia and assumed a position as a micro-palaeontologist with the Geological Survey of New South Wales, Department of Mines, later becoming the Department of Mineral Resources. During her employment 1968 to 1987 with the Geological Survey of New South Wales, she held various titles as a research scientist, including principal research scientist until her retirement from the Department of Mineral Resources in 1987.
The primary emphasis of Scheibner's work in Australia with the NSW Department of Mines was the study of the Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
and Permian
Permian
The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...
Foraminifera
Foraminifera
The Foraminifera , or forams for short, are a large group of amoeboid protists which are among the commonest plankton species. They have reticulating pseudopods, fine strands of cytoplasm that branch and merge to form a dynamic net...
of the Great Australian Basin in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. She also studied the South Australian and Carnarvon Basin
Carnarvon Basin
The Carnarvon Basin is a geological basin located in the north west of Western Australia. This is the main geological feature that makes up the North West Shelf...
s in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and the Indian Peninsula, and the Permian
Permian
The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...
Foraminifera
Foraminifera
The Foraminifera , or forams for short, are a large group of amoeboid protists which are among the commonest plankton species. They have reticulating pseudopods, fine strands of cytoplasm that branch and merge to form a dynamic net...
of the Sydney Basin
Sydney Basin
The Sydney Basin is a sedimentary basin on the east coast of New South Wales, Australia consisting of Permian and Triassic sedimentary rocks...
. From 1972 to 1976 Scheibner was invited to participate in the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) conducted under the auspices of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California, is one of the oldest and largest centers for ocean and earth science research, graduate training, and public service in the world...
, in the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
and Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
s. The results of these studies were published in the Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP); she was also invited to write a Synopsis of Cretaceous Foraminifera of the Indian Ocean, published in a monograph entitled Synopsis of the DSDP in the Indian Ocean.
Views on the subject of vaccines
Since retiring from the Department of Mineral Resources, Scheibner has been active as an anti-vaccination campaigner, making numerous statements linking vaccinations to various conditions, injuries and deaths. Her claims have been widely criticised and refuted by medical professionals.SIDS
Scheibner claims that while developing “Cotwatch” (an infant breathing monitor) with her late husband, she discovered a “stress-induced breathing pattern” and hypopnea was occurring around the time of infant DPT vaccination. She claimed that this was proof of a causal link between vaccination and SIDSSudden infant death syndrome
Sudden infant death syndrome is marked by the sudden death of an infant that is unexpected by medical history, and remains unexplained after a thorough forensic autopsy and a detailed death scene investigation. An infant is at the highest risk for SIDS during sleep, which is why it is sometimes...
. She further claimed that when she brought this information to the attention of the medical community, that paediatricians at the “Australian Crib Death Management Center” ceased referring parents to her to obtain a Cotwatch monitor. However, Australia does not use the term “Crib” or the spelling “Center”, and there is no record of such a centre or organisation ever existing.
Scheibner began making public statements of a link between vaccination and SIDS in the early 1990s, and in a book “Vaccination” published in 1993. In the book and subsequently, she has claimed that “vaccination is the single biggest cause of SIDS”. However data shows that since she began making her claims, vaccination rates for Birth to 2-years component of the Immunisation Schedule in Australia increased from 53% in 1990 to 92% in 2006, while SIDS deaths fell by 81% over the same period.
Scheibner claimed that when Japan paused their Pertussis vaccination program in 1974, SIDS deaths disappeared in the country. However, Dr Steven Basser refuted the claim, asserting that the studies Scheibner cited did not support her statements and that she had omitted information [from the studies] which did not support her position, including data showing Japanese Pertussis mortality increased 800% in the five years following the pause in Pertussis vaccination.
Since Scheibner’s claims were made, extensive scientific studies have found vaccination is in fact associated with a halving of the risk of SIDS.
Benefit of diseases
Scheibner has stated that infection with diseases such as Polio, MeaslesMeasles
Measles, also known as rubeola or morbilli, is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. Morbilliviruses, like other paramyxoviruses, are enveloped, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses...
, Whooping Cough and Rubella
Rubella
Rubella, commonly known as German measles, is a disease caused by the rubella virus. The name "rubella" is derived from the Latin, meaning little red. Rubella is also known as German measles because the disease was first described by German physicians in the mid-eighteenth century. This disease is...
pose no danger and are actually beneficial for the development of a child's immune system. She claims that the only reason children die or suffer permanent disability from these diseases is due to medical mismanagement.
Shaken Baby Syndrome
Scheibner claims that injuries and death attributed to Shaken Baby SyndromeShaken baby syndrome
Shaken baby syndrome is a triad of medical symptoms: subdural hematoma, retinal hemorrhage, and brain swelling from which doctors, consistent with current medical understanding, infer child abuse caused by intentional shaking...
, including retinal bleeding, broken bones, fractured skulls and detached retinas are actually caused by vaccination.
Integrity of the medical profession
During a Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission hearing, Scheibner questioned the integrity of all researchers involved in vaccine and SIDS research, claiming that manufacturers, doctors, governments and researchers were deliberately withholding evidence of vaccine harm in order to protect vaccination programmes.Criticisms
Dr Stephen Basser has written an extensive critical review of "the quality of the science of ... Scheibner" entitled Anti-immunisation scare: The inconvenient facts. One of his criticisms involves a conclusion Scheibner makes regarding a potential correlation between SIDS and immunisation in Japan. After review of her principal sources and her resultant conclusion, he states that- "Dr. Scheibner's analysis of them...is at best sloppy, and at worst blatantly dishonest."
In 1997, the Australian Skeptics
Australian Skeptics
The Australian Skeptics is a non-profit organisation based in Australia which investigates paranormal and pseudoscientific claims using scientific methodologies.-History:...
awarded her the "Bent Spoon Award
Bent Spoon Award
The Bent Spoon Award is an award given by Australian Skeptics, "presented to the perpetrator of the most preposterous piece of paranormal or pseudoscientific piffle". The name of the award is a reference to the spoon bending of Uri Geller...
". This award is presented annually to the Australian "perpetrator of the most preposterous piece of pseudoscientific piffle":
- "The unanimous choice of the judges was Dr Viera Scheibner for her high profile anti-immunisation campaign which, by promoting new ageNew AgeThe New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
and conspiracyConspiracy theoryA conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
mythologyMythologyThe term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
and by owing little to scientific methodologies or research, poses a serious threat to the health of Australian children."
Lon Morgan, DC, a chiropractor
Chiropractor
A Chiropractor, according to the Association of Chiropractic Colleges , "focuses on the relationship between the body's main structures – the skeleton, the muscles and the nerves – and the patient's health. Chiropractors believe that health can be improved and preserved by making adjustments to...
, has written a short analysis of her anti-vaccination stance, as well as an examination of Scheibner's claims of a disappearance of SIDS in Japan. He concludes that:
- "Whether it was due to personal bias, lack of relevant health science training, or inept research on her part, or a combination, Ms. Scheibner's claims have not withstood the test of time, or critical examination, and should be rejected."
An extensive critique of her claims and qualifications has been published in a 2005 article in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics
Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics
The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics is the official scientific journal of the American Chiropractic Association and is the only chiropractic journal included in Index Medicus. Published by Mosby , the journal includes peer-reviewed original articles, case reports, journal...
. Two of the authors of that article had also previously described Scheibner's book Vaccination: 100 years of orthodox research shows that vaccines represent an assault on the immune system as "highly inaccurate" in a 2000 article in the journal Pediatrics
Pediatrics (journal)
Pediatrics is an official peer-reviewed journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. In the inaugural January 1948 issue, the journal's first editor, Hugh McCulloch, articulated the journal's vision: "The content of the journal is... intended to encompass the needs of the whole child in his...
.
Commissioner William Carter, Q.C., who was hearing a Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission enquiry in which Viera Scheibner was called as a witness, dismissed her claims on the subject of vaccines, saying of her:
- "...I am not satisfied that her formal qualifications and professional experience properly equip her to provide a valid professional opinion on the complex subject of immunology..." and
- "...one must question her capacity to properly evaluate and interpret the results of others' scientific experience. I am not prepared therefore to accept her evidence in preference to that of Professor Pearn and Drs Whitby and Feery."
In 2001, the Hon Dr Brian Pezzutti
Brian Pezzutti
Brian Patrick Victor Pezzutti CSC, RFD is a former Australian politician. Born in Casino, New South Wales, he was the son of Victor Dominic Pezzutti and Helena Hilda Bazzo. He was an army reservist in 1965 and later became active in the armed forces; he received the National Medal in 1978...
criticised Viera's anti-vaccination campaigning in the NSW Legislative Council, saying:
- "I draw attention [to] misleading information provided by Dr Viera Scheibner ... who continuously writes against immunisation. In the 9 March edition of the Medical Observer, she submitted a very unusual letter [which] makes claims that are not supported by the documentation she referred to. It is very important for people to realise that the information provided by Dr Scheibner is not accurate."
None of Scheibner's claims in relation to vaccination, SIDS or traumatic infant head injuries have been published in peer-reviewed medical, legal or criminological journals of an accepted international standard.
Publications
- 1993 Vaccination: 100 years of orthodox research shows that vaccines represent an assault on the immune system, ISBN 0-646-15124-X
- 2000 Behavioural Problems in Childhood, ISBN 0-9578007-0-3