Injections link to autism still major cause for concern in health debate

SHAN ROSS

There is no link between the MMR vaccination and autism, or Crohn's disease, a bowel condition, the government maintains. It argues that the triple vaccine is still the best way of providing protection for children from measles, mumps and rubella.

It warns that these diseases can have very serious consequences, including viral meningitis and brain damage in children caused by mumps, and a risk to pregnant mothers presented by rubella.

The official view is that there is no benefit from single dose vaccinations and that a single vaccine would leave more children unprotected for extended periods and raise the likelihood of epidemics.

Parents have been warned that children's lives are at risk from falling rates of vaccination and that this could lead to a measles epidemic in which children might be seriously harmed or die.

When the diphtheria, typhoid and whooping cough vaccination was split in the 1970s, because of concerns, vaccination coverage became limited and 100 children died.

The government has said the current programme has cut instances of the three diseases by more than 90% and has the backing of nearly nine out of 10 parents.

Some GPs point out that having to get more than one injection would increase the possibility of children slipping through the net and being vulnerable to mumps, measles and rubella. However, opponents of MMR claim that autism has reached epidemic levels, yet before the 1990s and the introduction of the MMR vaccine the condition was very rare.

- Nov 25th