Fear After MMR Link to Bleeding Disease

The controversial MMR vaccine has been linked to a rare bleeding disorder in children, according to the latest research.

Around one in 22,000 children who receive the measles, mumps and rubella jab may need hospital treatment for idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), a study in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood found.

While experts stressed the likelihood of developing ITP after the MMR vaccine was rare, the research added to the debate over the safety of the jab, which has been linked to autism and bowel disease.

Vaccination levels of MMR have fallen to worryingly low levels since concerns were first raised about the jab. Last month the Government announced a £3 million advertising campaign to reassure parents about its safety.

ITP is a disorder where bleeding occurs under the skin, caused by a shortage of platelets, the cells that give blood its "stickiness". Victims feel tired and feverish and develop a purple rash on their skin which can turn black and spread over the body.

Transfusion

In extreme cases, the spleen may have to be removed or a blood transfusion given, although most people suffer from an uncomfortable but mild form and can be easily treated with drugs.

Researchers from the Public Health Laboratory Service studied hospital admissions for ITP among children in the South East Thames and North East Thames health regions who had been given the MMR jab between 1991 and 1994.

There were 28 admissions of 21 children under two (some having been admitted more than once) suffering from ITP who had been given the MMR jab. Nine of the 21 youngsters had been admitted to hospital with ITP within six weeks of receiving the triple jab.

Combined with earlier studies, the researchers calculated that under twos had a one in 22,300 chance of needing hospital treatment for ITP within six weeks of having the MMR vaccine.

Most cases of ITP in the population at large follow viral infections. But two out of every three cases of ITP among young children brought into hospital within six weeks of having the jab are probably attributable to the vaccine.

Casual association

"Our study confirms a casual association between the MMR vaccine and ITP," the study concluded.

Experts do not know why the vaccine causes the condition. But children who have previously been affected by ITP before having the vaccine are at no higher risk of developing the condition again after the jab than other youngsters.

Author Dr Elizabeth Miller, head of the immunisation division of the PHLS said: "The majority of cases of ITP in children will have nothing to do with vaccination.

"The condition, though unpleasant, is rarely dangerous and indeed those children who develop ITP after vaccination tend to have milder symptoms than those developing it after viral infection."

She added: "Although our study shows that some children are admitted to hospital for ITP, even in these cases the disease is rarely dangerous and can be easily treated.

"This is in stark contrast to measles, mumps and rubella which can have very serious consequences and be difficult to treat.

"The risks associated with ITP are small when compared to those of the diseases which this vaccine is designed to prevent."

Dr Miller urged parents to have their children vaccinated with the MMR jab and said scientists were committed to researching all possible safety concerns.

"Our study confirms a casual association between the MMR vaccine and ITP." - report