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ONE in eight GPs and a quarter
of their practice nurses believe that there is a link between the MMR
vaccination and autism, a survey has found.
A higher number suspect that the triple
vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella can trigger Crohn’s disease,
a bowel disorder which a number of parents believe developed in their
children after they had the injection. The findings, published today in the
British Medical Journal, will concern health officials trying to
convince the public that the inoculation is safe. Children have their first
dose between 12 and 15 months and a booster when they start school.
Fears over safety have led to a sharp drop in
uptake.
The Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS)
has said that 100,000 children are at risk of measles as the school term
starts because they had not had even the first dose. The parents’ group
Justice Awareness and Basic Support campaigns for three separate
vaccinations and believes that the combined version has led to 1,800
children developing problems such as autism.
The opinions of doctors and nurses in the
North Wales Health Authority were surveyed: 7 per cent of health visitors
thought that it was “very likely or possibly” associated with autism,
compared with 13 per cent of GPs and 27 per cent of practice nurses. Eleven
per cent of health visitors thought there could be a link with Crohn’s
disease, as did 13 per cent of doctors and 33 per cent of nurses.
The researchers, who included Mary Ramsay, a
PHLS consultant, noted that the survey was done in 1998, soon after media
coverage of American research linking MMR to brain and bowel disorders. She
said: “This survey shows how much confusion there is, even among health
workers. There is no link between the MMR and autism and Crohn’s disease —
all the proper studies have shown that. This vaccine was used safely in the
US and Scandinavia for 16 years before we introduced it.
There are side-effects, as with all
vaccinations. It can cause temperatures and occasionally fits but it does
not kill children or cause brain damage in the way measles does.”
Opinions on giving a second dose to children
aged three to five, said by officials to be vital because one in ten do not
gain immunity from the first dose, were also surveyed. Fifty-four per cent
of GPs totally agreed that the second dose was necessary; 40 per cent
agreed with reservations; and 3 per cent disagreed. Just 41 per cent of
health visitors and practice nurses agreed completely, with 10 per cent of
health visitors and 2 per cent of practice nurses disagreeing. One nurse
told the researchers that giving two injections to a young child distressed
the child, the parent and herself.
Ten of the 460 health professionals did not
give their children the second dose. One said: “I personally will not let
my children have their second MMR but I don’t influence parents. I let them
read the factsheet and decide.”
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