Measles cases have reached a 13-year high prompting fears of a new epidemic.

Measles cases reach a 13-year-high prompting epidemic fears
article in the Telegraph

Extract:

"In 2008 there were 1,348 cases of measles in England and Wales, an increase of more than a third on the 990 the previous year.

The number of cases, which are predominantly in children under 18, is the highest since the current method of data collecting was introduced in 1995 and the figures were described as "very worrying" by experts.

This is the result of low uptake of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine for the last decade.

Despite research linking the MMR jab to bowel disorders and autism having been debunked and uptake of the vaccine increasing for toddlers, groups of older children who were not immunised remain.

These children are now at school age where it is easier to spread infections and measles is circulating freely.

Catch-up campaigns have been launched to offer the vaccine to children up to the age of 18 but this has yet to have an effect on measles cases.

Dr Mary Ramsay, an immunisation expert at the Health Protection Agency, 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.

"What is so alarming is that 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 over the past decade and remain unprotected. Unfortunately this means that measles, which is highly infectious, is spreading easily among these unvaccinated children."

The number of children in Britain with autism is far higher than previously thought, say academics. Is MMR jab a factor in this?

New health fears over big surge in autism - Observer

Extract:

"The number of children in Britain with autism is far higher than previously thought, according to dramatic new evidence by the country's leading experts in the field.

A study, as yet unpublished, shows that as many as one in 58 children may have some form of the condition, a lifelong disability that leads to many sufferers becoming isolated because they have trouble making friends and often display obsessional behaviour.

Seven academics at Cambridge University, six of them from its renowned Autism Research Centre, undertook the research by studying children at local primary schools. Two of the academics, leaders in their field, privately believe that the surprisingly high figure may be linked to the use of the controversial MMR vaccine. That view is rejected by the rest of the team, including its leader, the renowned autism expert, Professor Simon Baron-Cohen.

The team found that one in 58 children has either autism or a related autistic spectrum disorder. Nationwide, that could be as many as 210,000 children under 16. The research is significant because that figure is well above the existing estimate of one in 100, which specialist bodies such as the National Autistic Society have until now accepted as correct. It is also significantly more than the previous highest estimate of one in 86, which was reported in research published last year in the Lancet.

Some experts who previously explained the rise in autism as the result of better diagnosis and a broader definition of the condition now believe the upward trend revealed by studies such as this indicates that there has been a real rise in the numbers of children who are affected by it. Although the new research is purely statistical and does not examine possible explanations for the rise, two of the authors believe that the MMR jab, which babies receive at 12 to 15 months, might be partly to blame. Dr Fiona Scott and Dr Carol Stott both say it could be a factor in small numbers of children."


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British government's vaccine officials knew about MMR risks many years ago, newly released documents reveal.

Vaccine officials knew about MMR risks article in today's Daily Telegraph.

Extract:

"Government officials were made aware of some problems with a version of the MMR vaccine in other countries but still introduced it in Britain in the late 1980s, newly released documents show.

The MMR vaccine with the Urabe strain of mumps was first used in Britain in October 1988. It was blamed for the deaths of several children after being withdrawn by the Department of Health in September 1992.

Previously confidential documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show how officials gradually learned of the dangers of the Urabe strain MMR which caused encephalitis-type conditions, including meningitis. Involving swelling of the brain or of the lining of the brain or spinal chord, they can lead to brain damage, deafness or even death.

The papers show that many months before the Urabe MMR vaccine was introduced in the UK, officials were made aware of problems in America, Sweden and Canada. "

What can we conclude from these revelations? - Well my personal conclusions are that this is further evidence that UK governments cannot be trusted, nor can their health officials, and that the drug companies retain their sinister reputation for avoiding disclosure of adverse side-effects of their evermore dangerous products...)o: