UK - Outbreak fear after MMR 'scare stories'

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Outbreak fear after MMR 'scare stories' Mar 2 2006

Madeleine Brindley, Western Mail

FUTURE outbreaks of measles, mumps and rubella in Wales are now inevitable,

public health experts warned last night.

Despite an upturn in take-up of the controversial MMR vaccine, experts

believe that it is not enough to stop these serious diseases re-occurring in

Welsh communities.

Mumps cases in Wales have soared and there have been small outbreaks of

measles in South Wales in the past few years.

And the National Public Health Service for Wales (NPHS Wales) is bracing

itself for an increase in rubella cases as a result of insufficient MMR

coverage.

Dr , head of immunisation and vaccines at the NPHS Wales,

last night said, " Outbreaks of all three diseases are inevitable in future

with current MMR coverage. "

Speaking at the third All Wales Immunisation Conference, in Llandudno, he

said that MMR coverage in Wales was still not high enough, even though

two-thirds of parents now consider the vaccine to be safe.

The latest figures reveal that 85% of two-year-olds have been vaccinated

with their first dose of MMR in Wales.

Although higher than in recent years - at the peak of the MMR scare less

than 70% of children in West Wales received the jab - it is still less than

the 95% coverage the World Health Organisation recommends to ensure that

measles, mumps and rubella do not regain a foothold in communities.

Many experts now believe that Wales is in the grip of a mumps epidemic as

there has been a sharp increase in the number of cases of mumps in Wales in

the past two years, with more than 3,200 reported cases of mumps in the

first half of 2005, compared with just 72 in 2001.

Teenagers and young people have been particularly at risk, because they were

growing up when mumps was becoming uncommon after the introduction of the

MMR vaccine in 1988.

Many did not catch mumps as young children or receive the MMR vaccine and

remain at risk of catching mumps.

It is feared that rubella cases could mushroom in the same way as mumps has

in Wales.

Public confidence in the triple-combine measles, mumps and rubella was

rocked by revelations by Dr Wakefield in 1998 that it caused bowel

disease and autism in young children.

" Scare stories " about the safety of the MMR jab also further eroded parental

confidence - research by the British Market Research Bureau found that 31%

of Welsh parents would be persuaded by these " scare stories " not to immunise

their children in 2002. But this number has since fallen to just 15%.

And the research showed that in November 2005 only 8% of parents said they

had indefinitely delayed, refused and would refuse to give their child the

MMR jab in the future, compared with almost double that number in May 2004.

Oliver, associate director of the British Market Research Bureau,

said, " Importantly the new research shows that scare stories are having

progressively less of an impact among Welsh parents. "

And , regional immunisation co-ordinator for NPHS Wales and

chair of the conference, said, " This can only be good news as public health

officers work to increase the take up of the MMR vaccination in the wake of

rising numbers of mumps cases. "

Disease increases as vaccination uptake falls

MMR UPTAKE

2005 - 85%

2003-04 - 80%

1996-97 (before Dr Wakefield's claims jab is linked to autism and

bowel disease) - 91%

MUMPS

2005 - 3,241 cases (week one to 39 only)

2004 - 1,891 cases

1995 - 71 cases

MEASLES

2005 - no cases (week one to 39 only)

2004 - four cases

1996 - no cases

RUBELLA

2005 - two cases (week one to 39 only)

2004 - no cases

1996 - 347 cases

(Source: Health Protection Agency)