Government health officials in the United States have decided that childhood vaccines worsened a rare, underlying disorder that ultimately led to "autism-like symptoms" in a Georgia girl.

The decision, which reportedly came down in November, 2007, means that the girl's family can be compensated from a federal vaccine-injury fund. The amount of compensation has not yet been determined.

The case went before the U.S. government's "vaccine court," which is the popular term for the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, which handles compensation to those people injured by vaccines.

The compensation fund, set up for the U.S. Congress, is meant to protect vaccines manufacturers from court damages to help ensure an adequate vaccine supply.

Although vaccines are considered safe, in rare instances they can lead to severe allergic reactions or a rare disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome.

The burden of proof in the court is lighter than in a traditional court, and is based on a "preponderance of evidence." Since the fund started in 1988, it has paid roughly 950 claims -- none for autism.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution identified the girl in the case as nine-year-old Hannah Poling. In an interview Wednesday with the newspaper, her parents, Jon and Terry Poling, said the government's concession in the case will help pay for the numerous therapists and other medical experts their child needs.

"At least we have some commitment from the government to take care of Hannah when we're gone," said Dr. Jon Poling, a neurologist.

Poling has a mitochondrial disorder called oxidative phosphorylation disease that the family says was worsened by vaccines. The rare disorder can be present at birth from an inherited gene, or acquired later in life, and leads to delays in walking and talking.

Advocates of vaccine-autism link celebrate

Legal experts say the narrow wording and circumstances in the case probably make it an exception -- not a precedent for thousands of other pending claims.

Indeed, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services "has not conceded that vaccines cause autism," said Linda Renzi, the lawyer representing federal officials.

And in a statement on their website, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which is a part of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, says it "has maintained and continues to maintain the position that vaccines do not cause autism, and has never concluded in any case that autism was caused by vaccination."

But advocates for autistic children who believe that vaccines can lead to autism see the case as a victory.

Nearly 5,000 families are seeking compensation for autism or other developmental disabilities they blame on either the vaccines themselves or a now mostly-discontinued mercury-based preservative called thimerosal.

The preservative once was commonly used to prevent bacterial contamination but since 2001 has been used only in certain flu shots. Some cases contend that the cumulative effect of the mercury in the preservative may have caused injuries.

Federal officials say the law bars them from discussing the case. However, The Associated Press and other news outlets have obtained copies of the concession by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

According to the November 9, 2007, document, five vaccines the girl received on one day in 2000 "significantly aggravated her mitochondrial disorder," predisposing her to metabolic problems that manifested as worsening brain function "with features of autism spectrum disorder."

The document does not address whether it was the thimerosal in the vaccines that was at fault.

While studies have repeatedly discounted any link between thimerosal and autism, thousands of claims remain before the courts.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, which has long refuted the link between vaccines and autism, has been seeking more information about Poling's case since last week, when a sealed court document detailing the government's settlement was posted on the Internet by an autism book author, then circulated widely among autism groups.

Meanwhile, the HRSA says it will present its views on the allegation that vaccines cause autism in an "omnibus" autism proceeding later in May. "The expert testimony in that proceeding will be available to the public, with the consent of the parties," the agency says.

With files from The Associated Press