Written answers

Tuesday, 1 June 2004

Department of Health and Children

Vaccination Programme

9:00 pm

Photo of Brian O'SheaBrian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 281: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the action he proposes to take in regard to concerns (details supplied) of parents regarding the MMR vaccine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16557/04]

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The MMR vaccine protects against measles, mumps and rubella and, in accordance with the recommendations of the immunisation advisory committee of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, can be administered to children between 12 and 15 months of age. A vaccine uptake rate of 95% is required to protect children from the diseases concerned and to stop the spread of the diseases in the community. Measles, in particular, is a highly infectious and serious disease; approximately one in 15 of children who contract measles suffers serious complications.

There is concern among some parents regarding the measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine. Negative coverage on the issue has added to the confusion of parents in deciding whether to vaccinate their children. In April 2002, I launched the MMR vaccine discussion pack, an information guide for health professionals and parents. The pack was produced by the NDSC and the department of public health, Southern Health Board, and was published by HeBE on behalf of the health boards. The pack sets out the facts regarding the most common concerns about MMR in a way that will help health professionals and parents to explore those concerns together, review the evidence regarding MMR and provide the basis for making an informed decision. The information is presented in such a way as to allow full discussion between health professionals and parents on each issue. The pack also contains an information leaflet for parents. The pack is set out in a question-and-answer format and addresses such issues as the alleged link between MMR and autism and Crohn's disease, the safety and side effects of the vaccine, the purpose of a second dose of vaccine, combined vaccine versus single doses and contraindications to the vaccine. The pack will enable health professionals to respond to the very real concerns of parents.

There is a sound evidence basis for the use of the MMR vaccine. Since the original publication of UK research from Dr. Andrew Wakefield about a possible causal link between MMR vaccine and autism, many researchers have investigated the proposed causal relationship and concluded that there is no link between MMR vaccine and autism or inflammatory bowel disease. My Department's submission to the Oireachtas committee contained further details on the scientific evidence in that regard. In Ireland, the issue has been examined by the immunisation advisory committee of the RCPI and the Irish Medicines Board. The conclusions are that there is no evidence to support the association between MMR vaccines and the development of autism or inflammatory bowel disease and the vaccine is safer than giving the three component vaccines separately. The Oireachtas committee has also endorsed the safety of the MMR vaccine.

The international consensus from professional bodies and international organisations is that the MMR is a safe and effective vaccine. The institutions include the Medical Research Council expert committee and the British Committee on the Safety of Medicines in the UK, the centres for disease control and prevention, or CDC, and the American Academy of Paediatrics in the USA, as well as the World Health Organisation. Studies by the United States Institute of Medicine concluded that there is no link between the vaccine and autism or inflammatory bowel disease. A large Finnish study involving 1.8 million individuals demonstrated that no case of inflammatory bowel disease or autism was linked to the MMR vaccine. A recent UK study where researchers analysed 2,000 studies from 180 countries found no evidence of a causal link between the MMR vaccine and autism or inflammatory bowel disease. A similar Swedish study found no increase in cases of autism in the ten years since the MMR vaccine was introduced. In late 2002, The New England Journal of Medicine published details of a study of more than 500,000 children born in Denmark between January 1991 and December 1998 which indicated that the risk of autism was the same for children regardless of whether they were vaccinated with MMR. The World Health Organisation, or WHO, strongly endorses the use of MMR vaccine on the grounds of its convincing record of safety and efficacy.

Dr. Simon Murch of the centre for paediatric gastroenterology, Royal Free and University College Medical School, London, who had originally questioned the safety of the MMR vaccine, categorically supports use of the MMR vaccine. In the November 2003 edition of The Lancet he states that:

by any rational standards of risk/benefit calculation, it is an illogical and potentially dangerous mistake for parents to be prepared to take their children in a car on the motorway or in an aeroplane on holiday, but not to protect them with the MMR vaccine. An unprotected child is not only at personal danger, but represents a potential hazard to others, including unborn children.

I am aware that the editor of The Lancet has said recently that the journal had learned of a "fatal conflict of interest" concerning the research carried out by Dr. Wakefield. I understand that the British General Medical Council is to examine that matter.

I have no plans for the introduction of a national database at this stage. I would like to take this opportunity again to urge all parents to have their children immunised against the diseases covered by the childhood immunisation programme to ensure that both their children and the population generally have maximum protection against the diseases concerned.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.