UK Doctor Under Fire Over Children's Vaccine

LONDON (Reuters Health) Aug 06 - A British doctor giving children separate vaccinations against measles, mumps and rubella rather than a government-favoured combination vaccine faces a disciplinary hearing, medical officials said on Monday.

The case has reignited debate over the safety of the combination measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, which some experts have linked to a rise in cases of autism among British children. Government scientists and the World Health Organisation, among others, have defended the three-in-one vaccine.

The doctor, Peter Mansfield, said he was giving parents what they wanted rather than making a judgment about the safety of MMR. "I don't think the science is clear one way or the other," he told BBC Radio. "But in the meantime, a lot of parents have decided on whatever grounds not to vaccinate their children with MMR. We are filling the gap."

Mansfield said he was acting legally and that it was only through private practices like his that parents could get single immunisations for their children.

Health officials criticised the doctor, saying that single vaccinations increase the risk of children contracting one of the three diseases the MMR vaccine is designed to protect against. "There is a real risk if you separate the doses out and there is delay, say, in getting rubella, then we could end up getting rubella-damaged babies," said Rod Griffiths, director of public health for the West Midlands. He said Mansfield would go before the doctors' professional body, the General Medical Council, for a disciplinary hearing.

The council would not comment on the case, but said it has the authority to dismiss doctors, suspend them or restrict their practices.

Paul Shattock, director of the Autism Research Unit (ARU) at Sunderland University in northeast England, said he supports Mansfield. He added that the scientific community has failed to carry out proper research into MMR and its alleged link to autism. "Absence of proof is not proof of absence," he told Reuters. "No one is suggesting that MMR is the only factor. MMR may be one of a number of factors working in concert."

Fears over MMR were raised in 1998 when a London doctor suggested a link between the vaccine and autism. Some reports have also linked it to inflammatory bowel disease, and the number of British children immunised with MMR has fallen to around 85% from above 90% as a result of the concerns.