Hi ashfaqjuna ,
There's a lot of public concern about a possible link between MMR
vaccine and the development of autism, but the best available
scientific research does not support this, and I had no hesitation in
having my own children immunized with the MMR "triple jab".
In "The Lancet" in 1998, Wakefield and co-workers suggested a causal
association between vaccines and autism [1]. However, this suggestion
was not supported by scientific analyses, and factors such as referral
bias and the small sample size of 12 patients were not considered [2].
Nevertheless, the idea gained ground that a link might exist between
MMR vaccine and autism. Much anecdotal "evidence" was reported by
concerned parents whose children had been diagnosed as autistic
following MMR vaccination, and the November 12, 2000 episode of CBS
"60 Minutes" carried a story on the alleged link between vaccination
and autism [3]. The February 3, 2002 episode of BBC "Panorama"
continued the theme [4], focusing on Dr Wakefield who is still seeking
to prove a link, and on three families whose children developed autism
and who had received the MMR vaccine.
However, a large number of studies, including studies published before
the "60 Minutes" and "Panorama" programs, have shown no link at all.
A June 12, 1999 study published in "The Lancet" concluded that the
rate of autism was no higher among vaccinated children. There's a good
summary of the article in the following Associated Press report:
"Study Shows No Link Between MMR Vaccine And Autism"
http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH?d=dmtICNNews&c=228770&p=~br,IHC|~st,333|~r,EMIHC000|~b,*|
You can read the full study online by visiting
http://www.thelancet.com/
then registering and searching for the title.
The February 17, 2001 electronic edition of the British Medical
Journal carried an extensive study which did not find any link between
MMR vaccine and autism. [5]
The March 7, 2001 issue of the Journal of the American Medical
Association analyzed data covering young children in California and
found no association between MMR immunization and an increase in the
occurrence of autism. [6]
The May 5, 2001 issue of Pediatrics featured a report from the June
2000 "New Challenges in Childhood Immunizations" conference. A
multidisciplinary panel reviewed data on what is known about autism
and MMR vaccine, and reached the following conclusion:
"Although the possible association with MMR vaccine has received much
public and political attention and there are many who have derived
their own conclusions based on personal experiences, the available
evidence does not support the hypothesis that MMR vaccine causes
autism or associated disorders or IBD. Separate administration of
measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines to children provides no benefit
over administration of the combination MMR vaccine and would result in
delayed or missed immunizations." [7]
The February 16, 2002 issue of the British Medical Journal carried
another extensive study which found no link between autism and the MMR
vaccine, and no evidence for any "new variant" form of autism. [8]
The May 11, 2002 issue of the British Medical Journal reports that a
Scottish expert group's review of MMR vaccine concluded that "it is
the best method of protecting children against these diseases". The
group also "rejected the use of single vaccines, after finding that
they have no safety advantages and are likely to be less effective in
immunising children." [9]
Meanwhile, Dr Wakefield is increasingly isolated in the scientific
community, but continues to work in this area. He has identified some
shortcomings in the original MMR tests - but these do not lead to any
association between MMR vaccine and autism. [10]
So what has fuelled the massive concern about a possible link? There
has been a significant increase in the incidence of autism from 1988
to 1999. However, this has occurred in several western countries
including those where MMR vaccine was introduced early (1971 in the
USA), late (1988 in the UK) and not introduced at the time of the
studies (Japan). This increase is thought to be due to a combination
of factors including increased awareness of the disease, changing
diagnostic criteria, and possibly some as-yet-unidentified
environmental factor.
Significantly, the diagnosis of autism tends to occur at the same age
that MMR vaccine is administered. Therefore, it's understandable that
distraught parents would be tempted to link the two. However,
diagnosis of autism also occurs at the same average age in children
who have not had the MMR vaccine.
The following web page summarises the arguments in favor of giving
multiple vaccines at the same time, concluding that this practice
provides better protection for the child, is less traumatic for the
child, and is more convenient and economical for the parents:
Immunizations: Misconception #7
http://www.quackwatch.org/03HealthPromotion/immu/immu07.html
The opposing viewpoint is presented by the lobby group
SingleVacines.com:
MMR: Our Children, Our Choice
http://www.singlevaccines.com/
There are real concerns about non-immunization, which has increased
due to fears about MMR. Measles used to kill hundreds of people a year
in the USA, and recently there have been outbreaks in communities with
low vaccine coverage in Holland [11] and Italy (where three children
died) [12].
Finally, please note that Google Answers is a research service, not
professional advice. There's a lot of material available referenced
here for you to read, but it's you who has to make the decision.
Sources:
[1] Wakefield AJ, Murch SH, Anthony A et al. lleal-lymphoid- nodular
hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental
disorder in children. Lancet 1998;351:637-41.
[2] Janaki Amin and Melanie Wong. Measles-Mumps-Rubella immunisation,
autism and inflammatory bowel disease: update. Commun Dis Intell, 1999
Aug, 23:8, 222
http://www.geocities.com/issues_in_immunization/safety/mmr_autism_ibd.htm
[3] CBS "60 Minutes" features story on the MMR vaccine and its alleged
link to autism.
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/article/1824-2080.html#60minutes
[4] MMR: Every Parent's Choice
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/1775369.stm
[5] MMR Vaccine and Autism: A new study in the British Medical
Journal. Autism Biomedical Information Network.
http://www.autism-biomed.org/bmj-mmr.htm
[6] No Link Found Between MMR Immunization and Autism. Daily
University Science News.
http://unisci.com/stories/20011/0307013.htm
[7] Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine and Autistic Spectrum Disorder:
Report From the New Challenges in Childhood Immunizations Conference
Convened in Oak Brook, Illinois, June 12-13, 2000 (Neal A. Halsey, MD,
Susan L. Hyman, MD and the Conference Writing).
http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/107/5/e84
[8] Measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination and bowel problems or
developmental regression in children with autism: population study
(Brent Taylor, Elizabeth Miller, Raghu Lingam, Nick Andrews, Andrea
Simmons and Julia Stowe). BMJ 2002;324:393-396 (16 February).
[9] Scottish expert group finds no link between MMR and autism.
British Medical Journal 2002;324:1118 (11 May).
http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/324/7346/1118/e?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&author1=christie&titleabstract=mmr&searchid=1024237298255_3385&stored_search=&FIRSTINDEX=0&fdate=1/1/2002&resourcetype=1,2,3,4,10
[10] Study claims MMR vaccine trials were inadequate. The Independent
(Louise Jury).
http://www.whale.to/v/mmr35.html
[11] Susan van den Hof, Christine M.A. Meffre, Marina A.E. Conyn-van
Spaendonck, Frits Woonink, Hester E. de Melker, and Rob S. van
Binnendijk - Measles Outbreak in a Community with Very Low Vaccine
Coverage.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol7no3_supp/vandenhof.htm
[12] Fatal Italian measles epidemic is warning for UK. New Scientist,
3 July 02
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992492
Additional Links:
MMR Immunisation on the Internet
http://www.poolehos.org/library/mmr.htm
Dr Andy Wakefield
http://www.whale.to/vaccines/wakefield.html
News search from New Scientist magazine (thanks, blazius-ga)
http://www.newscientist.com/news/search/dosearch.jsp?advsearch=mmr&searchtype=all
Google search strategy:
bmj mmr autism
://www.google.com/search?q=bmj%20mmr%20autism
mmr autism panorama
://www.google.com/search?q=mmr+autism+panorama
Regards,
eiffel-ga |
