MMR plea as study backs jab

Feb 5 2008 Western Mail

THERE is no link between the controversial MMR jab and autism, the largest ever published study on the issue will say today.

The research compared children with autism and those without and searched for measles antibodies in their bodies.

It comes after experts previously found raised concentrations of measles antibodies in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

The research prompted the National Public Health Service for Wales to again urge parents to ensure their children receive two doses of MMR before starting school to reduce the risk of infection, which can be potentially lethal.

Parental confidence in the triple vaccine was decimated in the late 1990s, which led to a sharp drop in the number of children having the jab named after the initial letters of the diseases it protects against – mumps, measles and rubella.

Uptake of the MMR jab in Wales is only now starting to recover to the levels seen before Dr Andrew Wakefield controversially claimed there was a link between the childhood vaccine, autism and bowel disease in 1998.

Dr Wakefield is currently appearing before the General Medical Council on charges relating to his research claims.

The latest research into the safety of the MMR jab, which is published today in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood, involved a sample of almost 250 children aged between 10 and 12, born between July 1990 and December 1991 in the South Thames area of England.

All the children had been vaccinated against MMR, but not all of them had been given both the doses needed for maximum immunity.

Blood samples were taken from all the children to check for the presence of persistent measles infection or an abnormal immune response.

The results showed there was no difference in virus or antibody levels between children with ASD and the comparison groups.

This finding was unaffected by whether or not the child had received both MMR doses or whether or not they had regressed – where children appear to develop communication skills, but then regress.

However, children with special educational needs and those with autism were least likely to have received the second dose, perhaps because their parents refused the second dose after their child developed symptoms.

The research team, which included experts from Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London, King’s College London, Manchester University and the Health Protection Agency (HPA), said, “No difference was detected in the distribution of measles antibody or in measles virus in ASD cases and controls whether the children had received the first, second or both MMR vaccinations. This remained true when the analysis was restricted to ASD cases with a history of regression.”

And Dr David Brown, from the HPA who worked on the research, said, “The study found no evidence linking MMR to autistic spectrum disorder and the paper adds to the overwhelming body of evidence from around the world supporting the use of MMR.”

Dr Meirion Evans, regional epidemiologist at the communicable disease surveillance centre of the National Public Health Service for Wales, said, “This study provides more strong evidence that MMR does not cause autism and should help reassure parents that the MMR vaccine is entirely safe.

“MMR uptake in most parts of Wales is still well below 90%, which means many young children have no protection against measles. This means that there is still a very real threat that measles infection could return.

“Parents are urged to make sure that their children complete the full course of two MMR doses before starting school in order to have optimum protection.”

There were 12 confirmed cases of measles in Wales last year – three times the number in 2006 – all of which were in children. Most children infected were under 10.

Page 2 - Background questions and answers that every parent should consider before making their decision