http://www.observer.co.uk/politics/story/0,6903,647878,00.html
Autism
screening for all children to end MMR fears
Kamal Ahmed and Gaby
Hinsliff
Sunday February 10, 2002
The Observer
All pre-school children are to be screened for autism under plans being
considered by the Government.
The move will finally
allow a full investigation of the causes of the condition and test any link
with the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR).
As nurseries threaten to
ban children who have not had the full MMR inoculation, Jacqui Smith, the
Health Minister, has indicated to colleagues that she will look positively at a
national screening programme if it helps understanding of the syndrome.
The programme of
pre-school testing has been put forward by the National Initiative for Autism:
Screening and Assessment (NIASA), a body funded by the Department of Health and
the Department for Education.
At a private briefing to
MPs last week, NIASA executives said a national screening programme would discover
how many young children suffer from the syndrome. At the moment almost 50 per
cent of people with autism are not diagnosed until they are 16.
The leaders of NIASA,
Professor Ann Le Couteur, of the University of Newcastle, and Dr Gillian Baird,
a consultant developmental paediatrician, are seen as leading experts in the
field.
Many parents believe rapid
increases in the number of children suffering from the condition is linked to
MMR, which has been at the centre of political and scientific controversy all
week.
The Government hopes that
by giving the screening programme the green light it will allay fears that not
enough is being done to look at the causes of autism. Offi cials say that it is
only by discovering the causes that parents' fears over a link to MMR will be
allayed.
'By screening early, we
can get away from identifying children with autism simply as "naughty
little people",' said Stephen Ladyman, chair of the All Party
Parliamentary Group on Autism.
In a separate development
yesterday the Government said it was starting to win the 'intellectual battle'
on MMR, even though a lot of work had to be done on winning broader public
support.
'We are winning the
argument that MMR is safe,' the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.
Dr David Salisbury, the
Government's head of vaccination policy, attacked Dr Andrew Wakefield, who
first suggested a link between MMR and autism. 'As each of his studies has been
aired, people have attempted to replicate them and time after time the studies
can't be replicated,' Salisbury said on Radio 4's Today programme. Wakefield
defended his work, saying similar findings had been made in America.
As the Government seeks to
swing the public back behind MMR, thousands of nursery and childcare workers
are to be drafted in to help push vaccination to parents. The Government will
step up its education programme with new advertisements focusing on praising
parents who have 'done the right thing' by having children immunised. Until now
the Government's MMR advertising has been low-key, comprising largely leaflets
in doctors' surgeries.
The National Daycare
Nursery Association is issuing new guidance for its 1,600 members asking them
to check whether each child has been immunised when registered and if not, urge
parents to get it done.
After the measles outbreak
in a south London pre-school class last week, some nurseries had considered
banning unvaccinated children - as happens in France, where babies over nine
months must have the jab - but have been advised they could risk legal action.
'There is a real equal opportunities issue here if you say "you must come
only if you are vaccinated",' said Karen Walker of the NDNA. 'But we have
nurseries that are becoming increasingly worried. I would not be at all
surprised if we had some nurseries that decide to go down that road.'
Meanwhile the Tories'
pledge that they would give single vaccinations to all parents who wanted them
was unravelling fast last night as it came under attack from senior
Conservatives.
Former Tory Science
Minister Ian Taylor said shadow health spokesperson Liam Fox's commitment was
'scaremongering of the worst sort' aimed at ingratiating the party with the
tabloids. Former Shadow Cabinet Minister Andrew Lansley issued a statement in
his Cambridgeshire South constituency saying he supported the triple jab.
'I am pretty appalled at
the behaviour of the Conservative Party, which seems to have sunk back into the
worst days of chasing Daily Mail headlines,' said Taylor.
|
The MMR debate |
10.02.2002:
Autism
screening for all children to end MMR fears
10.02.2002: Focus: An
issue of trust
10.02.2002: MMR: Your
questions answered
10.02.2002: Jon Henley:
'This is just not an issue in France...'
10.02.2002: "I'm
simply bemused": Observer writers on their MMR decisions
10.02.2002: Andrew
Rawnsley: My MMR dilemma - who can we believe?
10.02.2002: Nick
Hornby: Why parents are angry about autism
10.02.2002: Leader:
Dogma on MMR does not work
|
Live online: MMR debate, Monday 11 February |
The MMR debate: put
questions to doctors from both sides
MMR talkboard: have your
say here
|
Useful links |
23.12.2001:
To jab or
not to jab? MMR explained
Downing
Street: MMR advice
Department of Health: MMR
advice
MMR
evidence from Public Health Laboratory Service
How safe is MMR? BMJ debate
JABS: Support group for vaccine
damaged children
Guardian
Unlimited Weblog:More on MMR
|
Special reports |
Special
report: medicine and health
SocietyGuardian.co.uk:
Public health special
|
From the archive: Blair MMR row, round one |
23.12.2001:
Focus: No
10's fear of needles
23.12.2001: Blair: we
have never discussed our children's health
23.12.2001: Mary
Riddell: Come clean, Mr Blair
23.12.2001: Rod Liddle:
Privacy, or hiding the truth?
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