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       WHEN Madeline Coulter, 9, was 15 months old she received one of dozens of routine shots — the MMR vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella. Ten days later she suddenly developed a high fever and had a seizure with violent shaking and a loss of consciousness.
       “You know, you don’t expect something like this to happen to you,” says Dr. Sue Coulter, Madeline’s mother.
       Doctors have long known that fever-related seizures are a possible side effect of the routine childhood vaccinations MMR and DPT, for diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus. But a study out Wednesday shows just how rare they are.

       “The small number of side effects we see are nothing compared to the diseases,” says Dr. Judith Turow of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.
       Researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle and the Centers for Disease Control looked at records of more than 600,000 children. They found that following MMR vaccination only about 30 out of every 100,000 children had a seizure. The DPT vaccine caused seizures in about 7 out of every 100,000 children. And scientists found no evidence that children who did have seizures suffered any long-term effects.
       
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       By contrast, children who do not get vaccinated run a significant risk of getting sick — and even dying. From measles alone the risk of high fever and seizure is thousands of times higher than it is from the vaccination.

       In 1990 and 1991 — when vaccination levels dropped — more than 35,000 children in this country got measles and hundreds, possibly thousands, suffered seizures.
       “Vaccines are life-saving. People forget when they don’t see the disease how devastating the disease is,” Turow says.

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       Experts say parents should be aware of the tiny risk of high fever from the shots. It can occur eight to 10 days after the MMR vaccine and on the same day as the DPT. If it does happen, treat the fever and call the doctor.
       Madeline Coulter’s mother, who is a pediatrician, did not let the seizure prevent Madeline from getting the rest of her shots and today she is perfectly healthy.
       “A lot of people question the immunizations and I absolutely, completely insist that they must get their kids immunized,” she says.
       
       Robert Bazell is the chief science correspondent for NBC News.
       

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