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“Protecting the health and informed consent rights of children since 1982.”

 

From the Office of Congressman Dave Weldon (R-FL)

For Immediate Release: Contact: Pamela Groover, (202) 225-3671

February 8, 2002           pamela.groover@mail.house.gov/pgroover@imcingular.com

 

Rep. Dave Weldon, M.D. Urges Physicians to Give

Parents Choice of Separating the Measles, Mumps,

and Rubella (MMR) Vaccine Due to Growing Concern

 

Washington, D.C.—U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon, a Florida physician, urged the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to fully inform parents of their choice in having the MMR vaccine separated and administered at different times.  There is growing concern among parents and medical researchers that concurrent exposure of the measles virus with other viruses may be linked to serious developmental disorders in some children.  A recent study in the Journal of Clinical Pathology (Ulmann et al.) found persistent measles virus in the intestinal tissue of 75 of 91 patients with developmental disorders (i.e., autism) who also exhibited severe bowel disease.

“I am very disturbed by these findings and believe it is critical that we give children’s health the highest priority,” said Rep. Dave Weldon. “While the verdict is still out on whether the MMR vaccine causes regressive autism, an association has been demonstrated in this study and others.  I call upon the AAP to urge pediatricians to give parents all the facts about this safety concern and allow parents to make an informed decision about whether or not they want to separate the MMR vaccine for their children.”

“Vaccines have saved millions of lives.  However, there are growing concerns about the safety of the MMR vaccine that must be independently studied,” said Rep. Weldon. “These clinical laboratory findings cannot be dismissed with epidemiological studies.  The Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health must apply vigorous, independent tests to evaluate the concerns over the MMR.”

There is an epidemic of autism among children in the United States.  Ulmann et al. focus their research on a cohort of autistic children who develop what is known as regressive autism. Children with regressive autism meet normal developmental thresholds, but shortly after receiving the MMR (12-15 months of age) they begin to regress.  Many public health officials have stated that the timing is simply a coincidence.  However, Ulmann’s discovery of measles in the inflamed intestines of 75 of 91 children in this recent study gives serious cause for concern.

It is believed that persistent measles virus in the intestines of these children may be the cause of the severe bowel disease (lymphoic hyperplasia and ileocolitis).  Bowel disease is believed to result in the neurological disorders in these children.  It has been established by other researchers that developmental disorders are associated with severe bowel disease.  Last year the Institute of Medicine urged further study of this issue and the Congress has included language urging the National Institutes of Health to support research in this area.  Additionally, a research paper published in Adverse Drug Reactions in January 2001, showed flaws in the pre-licensing studies of the MMR vaccine.

 

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