MMR in clear over autism
MMR in clear over autism
By EMMA MORTON
Health Reporter
THE triple measles, mumps and rubella jab was yesterday given the all-clear by experts.
Millions of parents feared letting their kids have the MMR injection amid claims it could cause autism and stomach disorder Crohn’s disease.
But researchers working on the The Cochrane Review analysed 31 studies from around the world and said that there was NO evidence to back up the fears.
Doubts about the vaccine emerged in 1998 when research by Dr Andrew Wakefield was published in The Lancet.
It has since been discredited, although many parents are still concerned. Vaccination levels remain lower than hoped.
Research published in The Lancet last year concluded there was no evidence to support a link with autism in children.
Now The Cochrane Library, a collection of medicine databases, has published its own conclusions drawing together all the available information from around the world.
Author Dr Vittorio Demicheli said: “We conclude that all the major unintended events, such as triggering Crohn’s disease or autism, were suspected on the basis of unreliable evidence.”
Recent statistics show the uptake of MMR vaccine among two-year-olds in England was 81 per cent in 2004/05 — up from 80 per cent. That is still below the 95 per cent recommended by the World Health Organisation.
By EMMA MORTON
Health Reporter
THE triple measles, mumps and rubella jab was yesterday given the all-clear by experts.
Millions of parents feared letting their kids have the MMR injection amid claims it could cause autism and stomach disorder Crohn’s disease.
But researchers working on the The Cochrane Review analysed 31 studies from around the world and said that there was NO evidence to back up the fears.
Doubts about the vaccine emerged in 1998 when research by Dr Andrew Wakefield was published in The Lancet.
It has since been discredited, although many parents are still concerned. Vaccination levels remain lower than hoped.
Research published in The Lancet last year concluded there was no evidence to support a link with autism in children.
Now The Cochrane Library, a collection of medicine databases, has published its own conclusions drawing together all the available information from around the world.
Author Dr Vittorio Demicheli said: “We conclude that all the major unintended events, such as triggering Crohn’s disease or autism, were suspected on the basis of unreliable evidence.”
Recent statistics show the uptake of MMR vaccine among two-year-olds in England was 81 per cent in 2004/05 — up from 80 per cent. That is still below the 95 per cent recommended by the World Health Organisation.
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