Families begin legal fight over MMR vaccine

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> ISSUE 1255 Sunday 1 November 1998

>

> Families begin legal fight over MMR vaccine

> By Rajeev Syal

> TWO children who claim that they were severely disabled

> by the triple vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella

> have launched a multi-million-pound test case to claim

> compensation from the manufacturer.

>

> Adam Wilsher, 14, who is deaf, and Sayers, 11, who

> suffers from acute autism, have received Legal Aid to

> pursue Kline Beecham, the manufacturer of an MMR

> vaccine, for negligence and breach of duty.

>

> The cases are the first writs served against a

> manufacturer of the MMR injection which was

> administered to more than four million children. The

> outcome will determine whether another 500 children who

> claim to have experienced adverse side-effects will

> follow.

>

> Other children claim to have suffered brain damage,

> communication problems, arthritis and immuno-deficiency

> diseases from MMR vaccines and can be expected to seek

> up to £1 million each, according to legal experts.

>

> The writs are the culmination of a 10-year campaign by

> parents. Jackie Fletcher, a founding member of Jabs, a

> pressure group that supports the families of children

> claiming to have been affected by vaccines, said: " The

> myth of the triple vaccine being safe will finally be

> laid to rest if we win. This has been a long struggle

> and we hope that justice will be done for our

> children. "

>

> Mrs Fletcher's son, , was three and beginning to

> speak when he had his injection. He subsequently

> suffered from autism and epilepsy. She said that at

> least 500 members of Jabs wanted compensation. Mrs

> Fletcher stressed that the parents were not calling for

> all vaccines to be abolished. They were asking for

> recognition that some children had been disabled as a

> result of the MMR vaccine and should be compensated.

>

> Sayers, of Beaumaris, Anglesey, suffers from

> severe autism - a psychiatric disorder that makes it

> difficult for him to communicate or make relationships

> - and needs to be cared for day and night. His parents

> followed the advice of the former chief medical

> officer, Sir Calman - that it was better for

> children to accept the vaccine rather than run the risk

> of being contaminated by one of the three viral

> diseases.

>

> 's medical problems began when he was given the MMR

> injection in 1988. Innys Sayers, his mother, believes

> [ ]that the vaccine proved too traumatic for her son. She

> said: " I have given up my career in publishing and

> moved away from London because of the effects of the

> vaccine. Now my life revolves around caring for my son

> and providing the stability he needs. "

>

> Adam Wilsher was four when his parents took him for the

> MMR vaccine in October 1988. They claim that he

> suffered violent side-effects as soon as the injection

> was administered, became very ill, and lost his hearing

> while recovering.

>

> The combined MMR vaccination against all three viruses

> was introduced in Britain in October 1988 after being

> widely used for several years in America. In September

> 1992, after research linked a cluster of cases of

> meningitis in Nottingham to batches of the mumps strain

> in the vaccination, products made by two of the three

> manufacturers, Kline Beecham and Merieux, were

> withdrawn.

>

> All three vaccines used weakened mumps, measles and

> rubella viruses, to stimulate resistance. The two

> withdrawn brands were Immravax, made by Merieux UK

> Limited, and Pluserix, made by Kline Beecham.

>

> Both the Sayers and the Wilsher families claim that the

> Pluserix injection was defective and that the injuries

> were caused by the manufacturer's negligence in the

> research, manufacture, testing and development.

> Kline Beecham denies liability and said that its

> vaccine was withdrawn in 1992 as soon as the

> manufacturers became aware that it carried an increased

> risk of provoking meningitis. A spokesman for the

> company said: " There is no proof that the vaccine

> causes deafness or autism. "

>

> Since 1992 all the triple vaccines have been produced

> by Merck Sharpe and Dohme, with about a million babies

> a year being immunised in this way.

>

> 17 September 1998: [Connected] Parental fear of vaccine

> 'could revive infections'

> 18 April 1998: [Features] Vaccinating against fear

> 13 March 1998: Separate injections for MMR 'would risk

> infections'

> 27 February 1998: Vaccination may trigger disease

> linked to autism

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