MMR doctor links 170 cases of autism to vaccine

January 20, 2001

MMR doctor links 170 cases of autism to

vaccinehttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=004193524447883&rtmo=0xGx02bq&atmo=rrrrr\

rrq&pg=/et/01/1/21/nmmr21.html

ISSUE 2067 Sunday 21 January 2001

MMR doctor links 170 cases of autism to vaccine

By Lorraine Fraser, Medical Correspondent

MMR vaccination - Department of Health

Update On MMR vaccine [12 Jan '01] - Department of Health

Why does the MMR vaccine need to be suspended? - Jabs

Measles, mumps and rubella vaccine - Health Answers

The MMR vaccine [0-12 months] - Baby Centre

Autism UK

The Lancet [subscription required]

Shame on officials who say MMR is safe

'When friends ask should children be immunised, my answer is no'

THE consultant who first raised concerns about MMR vaccinations has

disclosed to The Telegraph that he has identified nearly 170 cases of a new

syndrome of autism and bowel disease in children who have had the triple-dose

injection.

Wakefield, a consultant gastroenterologist at the Royal Free

Hospital in London, said that in the " majority " of cases parents had documentary

evidence that their child's physical and mental decline had followed the

vaccination.

Professor Wakefield said: " Last week in our clinic we saw nine or 10

new children with exactly the same story, referred by jobbing paediatricians

from around the country who said, 'This child developed normally, had a reaction

to MMR and is now autistic' " .

In his first public comments since the row erupted in 1998, when he

reported on 12 cases, Professor Wakefield said that he remained seriously

concerned by the safety of the vaccine, despite reassurances from the Department

of Health.

He said: " The department says that the safety of MMR has been

proven. The argument is untenable. It cannot be substantiated by the science.

That is not only my opinion but increasingly the view of healthcare

professionals and the public.

He said: " Tests have revealed time and time again that we are

dealing with a new phenomenon. The Department of Health's contention that MMR

has been proven to be safe by study after study after study just doesn't hold

up. ly, it is not an honest appraisal of the science and it relegates the

scientific issues to the bottom of the barrel in favour of winning a propaganda

war. "

The doctor, who was fiercely attacked by health officials for

voicing his doubts three years ago, said in an exclusive interview that he felt

driven to break his silence because of the accumulating evidence. His remarks

will infuriate the Government and sharpen the dilemma of parents over whether to

have children innoculated with MMR.

It emerged last month that a rising number of doctors and nurses

were worried about giving second doses of the vaccine, and pressure is growing

for its separation into its three component vaccinations, spread over three

years. In his 1998 article in The Lancet, Professor Wakefield reported finding a

devastating combination of bowel disease and autism in 12 children.

His revelation that that figure has reached almost 170 cases will

shock parents and doctors and add pressure on the Government to justify its

vaccination policy. This month Dr Salisbury, the head of the Government's

immunisation programme, insisted that MMR was safe.

The vaccine, which contains live measles, mumps and rubella virus,

has been given to millions of children in the UK since its introduction in 1988

but the take-up rate has fallen sharply since Dr Wakefield made his original

claims.

Ten days ago health chiefs warned parents that Britain could face a

measles outbreak unless more had their children vaccinated with MMR. Professor

Wakefield said, however, that if an outbreak were to erupt it would be the fault

of the health department, which had " failed to address the safety issues " .

The doctor and his colleagues are testing the hypothesis that the

measles virus from the vaccine can lodge in the gut of susceptible children,

damaging the bowel and causing autism, and that the addition of the mumps virus

makes that more likely.

18 January 2001: MMR jab was launched too early, says health chief

13 January 2001: Ministry is blocking single-dose vaccines

12 January 2001: Nearly half of GPs uneasy over MMR dose

5 January 2001: Measles warning renews calls for single vaccines

28 December 2000: Babies who are not vaccinated 'risk death'

14 September 2000: Jab fear puts children at risk

10 April 2000: Parents 'should continue to trust MMR vaccine'

8 September 1999: New fear over autism link to triple vaccine

1 November 1998: Families begin legal fight over MMR vaccine

27 February 1998: Vaccination may trigger disease linked to autism

Minister set up deal to save animal lab

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