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Parents seek research into autism and measles 'links' 18/09/2002 - 08:56:27 Parents of children with autism were today presenting petitions calling for urgent medical tests to be carried out into alleged links between the condition and the measles virus. Pressure groups were due to present petitions to politicians across Britain and Ireland. The petitions are being delivered to the Dáil, to Downing Street, the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly urging free access to clinical medical examinations and treatment for an estimated 20,000 children diagnosed since 1990 with autism. They have also called for funding for urgent research into possible links between autism and the combined Measles Mumps and Rubella vaccine (MMR). Bill Welsh, chairman of Action Against Autism, who is from Glasgow and grandfather of a seven-year-old boy with autism, said: “Research that is taking place at the moment does not reflect the urgent nature of this tragic episode. “For 20,000 kids to be seriously ill and not receive medical examinations is a national disgrace. “We believe these children are victims of medical politics - in other words, because the vaccination programme may be implicated in what has happened, the medical profession has turned its back on these cases.” Richard Miles, member of the Autism Research Campaign for Health, and father of a 13-year-old boy with autism, said: “We want treatment and we want to know why these children have the measles virus in their gut and blood.” The parents’ action comes after repeated assurances that MMR is safe. Cheer up your phone with the Latest Ringtones and Logos from MyMobile Irish News | Print Version | Email to friend | Previous Page © Thomas Crosbie Media, 2002. |
