More than 150 cases of measles have been reported in the US this year already. There has also be a similar rise in measles cases in Europe. Doctors are now worried that measles will make a comeback and plague school age children as it did when I was a child.
Many think that the increase in the number of measles cases is the result of parents' fears that vaccinations can harm their children…namely by causing autism. Dr. Gregory Poland of the Mayo Clinic is urging doctors to talk to moms and reassure them that the vaccinations are necessary.
A recent review of 1,000 studies on vaccines show minimal if any danger in causing autism [Vaccines can cause inflammation of the brain, fainting, and seizures. But autism? Apparently not]. Any side effects that were identified tend to be short-lived.
Where did the autism / vaccine scare start?
A study in 1998 by a physician in the U.K., Andrew Wakefield, M.D., was published in the medical journal The Lancet. Several years ago, The Lancet deleted the study from its internet archives and the British General Medical Council has concluded that the study was not just flawed by "fraudulent". Dr. Wakefield has since lost his license to practice medicine in the U.K.
But many parents still worry about vaccines and the additives such as thiomersal. Certain celebrity activists have continued to fuel speculation that vaccinations can cause autism…despite the fact that there appears to be scant, if any evidence to support this contention.
"A rising portion of the population is deciding not to immunize their children because of this controversy, and these children are now susceptible to the measles virus," says Dr. Poland, a Professor of Medicine and director of the Mayo Clinic Vaccine Research Group.
Increase in measles outbreaks "Devastating"
Dr. Poland describes the current resurgence of measles as devastating.
"The campaign against the vaccine has caused great harm to public health across multiple nations, even though it has no scientific basis. There have been over 20 studies, spanning two decades, conducted in several countries. Not one has found scientific evidence of a connection between autism spectrum disorders and MMR vaccine," per Dr. Poland.
Not vaccinating – safe approach…or a time bomb waiting to go off?
Many parents have decided that the safer approach is not to vaccinate their children against measles…which is a safe approach as long as no one has measles. But once measles becomes common, children who have never been vaccinated become not only a risk to themselves but to others. Find out more about doctors and health plans.
So what do you think? Let us know by commenting below.
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1. September 2011 at 11:01 pm
Clearly you have never seen a child regress at the speed of light after a vaccination, and as a direct result be permantley damaged. Lucky you! Noncense or ignorance???
1. September 2011 at 10:27 am
Finally I got to know the background of this nonsense.
How can a vaccine cause a change on the early development on a already developed brain? well, turns out it was nonsense after all.
autism and aspergers are pure genetics, not a disease, nor something to fear.