MMR and autism

So, it’s official – there is no link between the MMR vaccine and autism. A study in Japan showed that not only did the autism rate not rise in concert with the use of MMR, but it carried on rising even after the MMR was withdrawn (Japan had an unrelated issue with the mumps component which caused its withdrawal, and are restarting MMR vaccination again soon). What is especially bizarre about this whole furore is that there was never any real scientific evidence suggesting a link. There were anecdotal stories (“My child became autistic a few months after having the MMR jab” ) that only show that autism tends to be diagnosed around the age of 2 or so, which happens to be a few months after children receive this jab. The original suggested link, such as it was, came from a very small study (12 children) that, in any case, implicated not the MMR combination vaccine but the measles portion of it, and so having separate jabs would be little help.

However, what really got my goat about the whole thing is the effect that it’s had on vaccination in general in this country (possibly others, too, I don’t know). From over 95% of children being vaccinated against these three diseases and many others, we are now below 60% in some areas. And 80% is the level needed to prevent measles epidemics. “What’s the big deal?” some say. “It’s only measles.” Well, people have forgotten but measles is a killer. Worse than that, it cripples even more children than it kills. Mumps is a killer, too, and it can cause sterility in the survivors. Rubella isn’t too dangerous to children, but causes miscarriages and birth defects in pregnant women.

We seem to have forgotten that there have been only three true advances in public health care ever. These are clean water, vaccination and antibiotics. Actually, I hesitate even to include antibiotics in there because, although they have squashed bacterial diseases in the rich world, there are signs that their brief rule (less than 50 years even now) is coming to an end, with overuse having led to widespread resistance (think MRSA), and a resultant resurgence in infectious disease. Clean water has saved more lives than any other single innovation and will continue to do so for as long as we keep our water clean. Vaccination runs a close second – and is the only approach that has ever completely wiped out a disease (smallpox, and hopefully also polio in the next couple of years).

Anything that reduces vaccination rates is very serious, and so we must be very careful that we only risk reducing vaccination rates if the danger is greater than that of not having the vaccinations. People have forgotten in the healthy, wealthy West that good health is a fragile thing. Only 30 years ago in the West, children were still dying and being crippled by measles, polio and the rest. Let our vigilance slip and we could easily be back there, and no one wants that.

pax et bonum

Article posted at 3:46pm on 04 March 2005
Category: Life, Politics, Struggling, General