Andrew Wakefield and the MMR

This morning in the school playground I was part of a discussion about whether someone should give her child the MMR jab. She specifically mentioned Autism. Really? After all of this time?

Andrew Wakefield was a Doctor who invested in several companies, including a company which made single vaccines for Measles, Mumps and Rubella.
He took a group of 12 Autistic children and subjected them to a series of tests, including invasive tests such as Lumbar punctures and Colonoscopy, and in 1998 published a paper stating that possibly the MMR was the trigger of Autism in 8 of the children (and Mumps was responsible in one other). He then went to a Press Conference and stated it was definitely true and the MMR should be withdrawn. He suggested the best way to get around this was?....You guessed it...give single vaccines.

Some of the children recruited for the testing were only there because their parents had already decided the MMR was responsible and were filing Lawsuits. Other children were recruited via anti-MMR campaigns. Andrew Wakefield was paid at least £435,600 by the Lawyers involved who wanted to prove the MMR was responsible for Autism. His paid job was to try and find a link.

5 of the children had recorded developmental delay dating back to before they had the MMR jab.
3 of the 12 children didn't even have a diagnosis of Autism.
His findings have never in any way been backed up by any other research before or afterwards.
Some of the findings reported to The Lancet were different to the original tables of data held by the Royal Free Hospital.
One of the children involved in the initial research developed life-threatening complications as a direct result of 'testing' and received a hefty out-of-court settlement.

Measles, Mumps and Rubella can all have serious side effects, including encephalitis, with Rubella most dangerous for adults. All can cause damage to an unborn baby including deformity, deafness, miscarriage and stillbirth. Mumps famously can damage a male's fertility, although this is incredibly rare.
Approximately 1/3 of children who catch Measles will develop complications including Pneumonia and Ear Infections.  For every 1000 children who get Measles 1-2 will die and 1 will develop Encephalitis which may leave them deaf, blind or mentally damaged.

In 2003 the uptake figures for MMR were as low as 70% in parts of the UK, and in the Welsh Measles epidemic of late 2012- early 2013 1455 people developed Measles. Around 180 of these were babies and toddlers too young to be given the MMR, who should have been protected by the fact that everyone else had it. 1 child died.

In 2010 Andrew Wakefield was found guilty of Serious Professional Misconduct by the the General Medical Council and struck off. His greed is directly responsible for the death and permanent injury of many children.

And anyway, what's so horrific about Autism?




Sources -
The Centre for Disease Control And Prevention (The CDC)
The NHS
The Guardian
The British Medical Journal