MMR row blamed for measles outbreak
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Independent Minds
The number of cases of measles rose by more than a third last year, to reach the highest total since records for the illness began.
There were 1,348 cases in England and Wales in 2008, a 36 per cent increase on the previous year.
Half of the cases (662) of the potentially fatal disease occurred in London, where the MMR vaccination rates are lowest, the Health Protection Agency (HPA), which published the figures, said. It was a record number of measles cases in the capital. Records have been kept since 1995.
Nationally, 88.3 per cent of children have had their first MMR dose, given at around 14 months, and 76.3 per cent have had the second dose at age five, according to the latest available figures for September 2008.
But in London vaccination rates are as low as 29.9 per cent (in Hackney), well below those in the rest of the country. In two-thirds of boroughs, fewer than 70 per cent of children have received both doses, and in eight boroughs the total vaccinated is less than half – Brent, Hackney, Hammersmith, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington, Lewisham and Wandsworth.
Warnings from scientists last summer that Britain faced a greater threat of an epidemic, with up to 100,000 people infected, than at any time for decades led ministers to launch a "catch-up" campaign aimed at parents who had failed to vaccinate their children. More than one million doses of vaccine were stockpiled and primary care trusts ordered to identify unvaccinated children and encourage their parents to bring them in for injection. A spokesperson for the HPA said it was too early to say if vaccination rates had increased.
Dr Mary Ramsay, an expert on immunisation at the HPA said: "The year-on-year increase of measles across England and Wales is very worrying. Last year saw the highest number of cases since the current method of monitoring the disease was introduced in 1995.
"The majority of these cases could have been prevented, as most were in children who were not fully protected with MMR. There are still many children out there who were not vaccinated as toddlers in the past decade."
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Comments
Let us put the blame for the measles outbreaks where it really lies. And we can add the Rubella and Mumps outbreaks when they also come along.
Bob Miller
Rightly or wrongly parents refused to give their children the MMR jab because they were worried about a link to autism.
There was, and still is, an option of single vaccines. The government refused to make these available on the NHS. If they had made them available we might not have this situation.
If the object is to immunise children why did the government have to take a stance of MMR or nothing?
Not having the MMR jab might not be a good decision by parents.
Not offering the viable alternative is an arrogant and stupid decision by the government.
Why is it unreasonable for the government to base decisions concerning the allocation of funding on available scientific evidence, of which there is a great deal (go to Google Scholar and type in "MMR" and "autism"), which has not been able to establish any link between MMR and autism? You suggest that spending priorities should be determined by a prejudiced and scientifically illiterate public whose opinions have largely been determined by, at best, an equally illiterate and ignorant media (I say "at best" because the only other alternative is that people have been deliberately mislead in order to raise advertising revenues and I'm not one for conspiracy theories).
And besides, what is wrong with vaccinations? Most of them may contain a substance based on mercury, one of the biggest poisons known to human-kind. But it is gradually being removed, from at least some vaccinations now. Okay, so it is being replaced substances based on Aluminium, but that is not too bad (is it?)
And all these parents who have normal children until they receive the DPT, or MMR vaccination - and then they contract serious diseases - or die. Clearly, they don't know what they are talking about. We absolutely know this because all those nice scientists have told us that their randomised, double-blind trials (*sponsored by those nice drug companies?) have demonstrated that vaccinations are quite safe.
So lets not worry over-much. Lets all go and get our measure of mercury, or aluminium, and inject it into our bloodstreams. It is the only sensible thing to do - if we want to avoid measles.
TRUTH: Thimerosal, allegedly "one of the biggest poisons known to human-kind" is not used in MMR vaccines. But actually writing correct information would derail your own agenda, whatever it may be.
The MMR never had thimerosal. Putting thimerosal in a live virus vaccine would kill the live virus.
All that aside, though...Vaccination is most definitely linked to autism...just in a way that most people haven't considered. Acetaminophen, probably better known in the UK as Calprol, is often given in conjunction with vaccines, either before, or in the days following vaccination to suppress fever and irritability. This drug depletes glutathione, a very important antioxidant that is needed in large quantities in the human body to filter out all sorts of harmful substances, including mercury. Give this to a baby in conjunction with vaccines, and you are disabling that child's detoxification system. This is why so many autistic children have gut issues. Glutathione concentrations are highest in the small bowel and lungs. Interestingly, this drug has also been linked to asthma...and no one seems to be discouraging its use. Wonder why?
Some people may have arranged for their children to become infected with CHICKENPOX. Chickenpox is the least serious of common childhood infections, but the symptoms can be rather more severe if the disease is contracted as an adult, so there might have thought there was a case for deliberately infecting children.
MEASLES was the most serious of common childhood infections. It killed about 1 in every thousand children who contracted it, and for every child that was killed, many more survived but with permanent damage. Measles becomes less dangerous as the child becomes older (http://www.ajph.org/cgi/reprint/70/11/1
Shame you didn't think to do some basic fact-checking before perpetuating dangerous misinformation. You might at least have asked your mum.
Autism begins to show itself at the same age that the MMR vaccine is given. That is the tangential link. Not a causal one. Autism is genetic.
If we start using our brains and not falling prey to these campaigns of paranoia, our children would be safer.
Sorry, my friend, but you are the one who is ill-informed. None of the epidemiological studies are picking up a link to vaccinations, because NONE of them factor in the use of antipyretics. Try reading a little bit about glutathione depletion and why perhaps Calprol isn't such a good thing to give to babies in conjunction with vaccines.
Fact: autism is genetic. Fact: there may be tests that can detect autism in a fetus on the womb soon available (well before MMR is offered, no!). Fact: links exist between autism and male gender and mathmatics ability and ability to play chess well.... all arenas that rely on the same part of a brain and a combination of certain hormones working on the brain. These are firm links, hard facts, real science from peoplt not being paid by pharmaceutical companies like Dr Wakefield was, to skew their facts.
When will MMR uptake go back to safe levels? When some children die of one of the three potentially fatal illness, when children start showing up to school scarred in the ways their grandparents and great-grandparents used to be after recovering.... scarred and dead children. Great. Again, thanks Dr Wakefield.
I would also be interested to see a breakdown of who actually has been contracting measles. I wonder if it is within communities that have a high immigrant population, who might have come from countries where measles is endemic? And I wonder if immigrants are routinely checked to see whether they have been vaccinated against measles (and other infectious diseases come to think of it)? Why haven't they released this information? I don't see the point in releasing some data, but not all, because then statistics can be misleading. If many of these cases have been imported, and the majority of British kids have been vaccinated (which they have) then the chances of an epidemic amongst British kids is pretty remote, isn't it? The HPA should give us all the information, not just some of it, so we can make an informed decision regarding this matter.
That is with the weasels and liars placed high up in the government and the NHS.
Education in the UK has reached the point where most people can read. In spite of the education system, we are also quite good at reasoning for ourselves. Where obvious hiding of the truth and deliberate dissemination of lies is taking place, people tend to stop believing.
That is the position in which parents of tiny children find themselves. They agonise to find the best way to ensure the health of their much-loved children.
Prerhaps an operation to remove the liars and weasel-speakers from the system would be a good way to produce a reduction of measels? It is bound to take a long time, because trust, once broken, is very difficult to mend.
in relation to MMR vaccine: Mercury in the human system is not recommended as it damages human tissue. For that reason, over a number of years, mercury fillings have been removed from teeth.
The NHS/Politicians told us that mercury was not contained in the MMR vaccine, so children could not have been made ill by it. Yet here were large numbers of previously healthy toddlers who were faiiling ill - and remaining ill.
With autism on the rise, and every 'expert' denying it. With previously fit and healthy children becoming ill and very little help being given to desperate parents, by know-nothing 'experts', is it any wonder that parents trust levels were reduced. 1 in 80 children born in the UK will develop Autism Spectrum Disorder. That is a frighteningly large number of children.
Then Parents began to opt for three separated vaccines. in case it was the triple that was causing the illness. The NHS/Politicians said they could not have separated vaccines - and tried to enforce the use of the Triple.
Then they said that there was - after all mercury, even in the single measles injection.
Then they said the mercury, (which they had previously denied) was now removed from the MMR vaccine.
Why would any parent trust people who didn't ever tell the truth?
Parents with no trust are still desperately trying to work out what to do. Who can they trust, except for the 'experts' - who are not trustworthy?
John L. Benson, Ph.D.
The first line was also alarmist, saying that the number of cases had reached "the highest total since records began"; it led straight on to the figures in England and Wales. It was not until the third paragraph that it was revealed the records referred to London only and dated back a mere thirteen years.
This falls short of the journalistic standards that I expect from the Independent.
Why hasn't the Health Protection Agency published figures for mumps and rubella? Logically, the incidences of these diseases should also have risen.