Thiomersal

Thiomersal (<a href="/facts/International_Nonproprietary_Name/wYL655x6">INN</a>), or thimerosal (<a href="/facts/United_States_Adopted_Name/5AFEKGfQ">USAN</a>, <a href="/facts/Japanese_Accepted_Name/2TWpxztK">JAN</a>), also sold under the name merthiolate, is an <a href="/facts/Organomercury/MNDdMpEq">organomercury</a> compound. It is a well-established <a href="/facts/Antiseptic/ua05WK9M">antiseptic</a> and <a href="/facts/Antifungal_agent/WEk5nS2B">antifungal agent</a>.
The pharmaceutical corporation <a href="/facts/Eli_Lilly_and_Company/e5Pw7RmR">Eli Lilly and Company</a> named it Merthiolate. It has been used as a <a href="/facts/Preservative/sm1IDmDT">preservative</a> in <a href="/facts/Vaccine/QcXzLug2">vaccines</a>, <a href="/facts/Immunoglobulin/MX8pdTdP">immunoglobulin</a> preparations, <a href="/facts/Allergy/dYAVosh8">skin test antigens</a>, <a href="/facts/Antivenin/pyHdMBVU">antivenins</a>, <a href="/facts/Ophthalmology/024hdTWF">ophthalmic</a> and nasal products, and <a href="/facts/Tattoo/l5QSeblC">tattoo</a> inks. In spite of the <a href="/facts/Scientific_consensus/DrTWaQIy">scientific consensus</a> that fears about its safety are unsubstantiated, its use as a vaccine preservative has been <a href="/facts/Thiomersal_controversy/BNom0AJr">called into question</a> by <a href="/facts/Vaccine_hesitancy/Asj23DCg">anti-vaccination</a> groups. 
A 1999 statement issued in <a href="/facts/Centers_for_Disease_Control_and_Prevention/NmoJNDV5">CDC</a>'s <a href="/facts/Morbidity_and_Mortality_Weekly_Report/oTDtNFQU">Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report</a> announced that "the Public Health Service (<a href="/facts/United_States_Public_Health_Service_Commissioned_Corps/QfvmogN2">PHS</a>), the American Academy of Pediatrics (<a href="/facts/American_Academy_of_Pediatrics/rsUGJTBh">AAP</a>), and vaccine manufacturers agree that thimerosal-containing vaccines should be removed as soon as possible" and that these groups would collaborate to replace them while manufacturers committed "to eliminate or reduce as expeditiously as possible the <a href="/facts/Mercury_(element)/WlxfoHva">mercury</a> content of their vaccines." 
It remains in use as a preservative for certain annual <a href="/facts/Influenza_vaccine/6J8BBKN1">flu vaccines</a>, mostly those stored in multi-dose vials. Single-dose vial flu shots are an option for those who prefer vaccines with no thiomersal, although no scientific data supports claims that there is any link between thiomersal and autism.

Thiomersal open-in-new

Thiomersal