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| Yes | 50% | 141 votes | Total: 280 votes | |
| No | 50% | 139 votes |
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Add to FavoritesThe fear that the Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)vaccine can cause autism is completely unfounded and is endangering children's lives throughout the world. Instead of preventing autism, parents who refuse to vaccinate their children have exposed their children and ours to measles once again. The virus, which was all but dead, has now resurfaced and scientists fear that this is just the beginning.
On Thursday, July 10,2008, FoxNews.com reported that a measles outbreak has affected 127 people in 15 states. This is by far the largest measles outbreak in the United States in over 10 years and pediatricians everywhere are more than concerned. Since the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine was introduced in 1964, measles were virtually wiped out in the United States. Unfortunately, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta warns that this outbreak may just be the tip of the iceberg. Why? Widespread fear that the MMR vaccine is linked to autism has many parents shying away from vaccinations. But are they really protecting their children or are they putting their children at greater risk?
Autism and the MMR Vaccination: Just the Facts
In 1998, a study was released that suspected a link between autism and the MMR vaccination. The study was a small study of 12 autistic children, and while its' findings weren't conclusive; the results suggested a possible link between the MMR vaccination and autism. Since then, numerous clinical tests have been performed and none of them have shown there to be a link between autism and the MMR vaccination and most importantly between autism and the vaccine preservative thimerosal. The Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC and the Institute of Medicine are all in agreement that the MMR vaccination is not the cause of autism. But to be on the safe side, in 1999, the CDC and the Academy of Pediatrics recommended that thimerosal should be reduced and eventually eliminated from all vaccinations. The vaccine manufacturers agreed. According to the CDC, "Since 2001, with the exception of some influenza (flu) vaccines, thimerosal is not used as a preservative in routinely recommended childhood vaccines." Yet autism rates have not declined since 2001, which would lend support to the researchers claiming that there has never been a link between autism and the MMR vaccination.
Further proof came from a large study in Denmark. According to the New England Journal of Medicine in 2002, the Danish study of more than 537,000 children showed no difference in the rates of autism between children who received the MMR vaccination and those who did not. Other studies have come to the same conclusion, but the Danish study was by far the largest and most impressive.
Even with all the facts out there, parents around the world are suddenly choosing not to vaccinate their children. In the UK alone, MMR vaccinations have declined from 92% to 80%. Even in the United States, more pediatricians are feeling pressure from well meaning parents to delay or even prevent giving the MMR vaccination. With more of the population unprotected from the measles, we are suddenly starting to see outbreaks for the first time in years. In May 2008, the CDC urged parents to continue vaccinating their children to protect against this very thing, but will they listen?
Autism and the MMR Vaccination: CONCLUSION
There has never been any conclusive evidence linking autism to the MMR vaccination and all parents should continue to vaccinate their children. As a society, we need to look beyond the MMR vaccination and try and find the real reason autism is on the rise. If we continue to blame the MMR vaccination for autism without any conclusive proof, we run the risk of endangering an entire generation. In our attempts to protect our children, we must not let our fears get in the way of the facts and our good judgment. While this recent outbreak of the measles will not be our last, hopefully we can get back on track as a society. The real cause of autism is still out there, we just have to look elsewhere.
Learn more about this author, Bonnie Ferrar.
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No
Many questions still remain unanswered regarding autism, not the least of which is its cause. As a psychotherapist specializing in working with individuals with developmental disabilities, I find myself often frustrated and irritated at the current media blitz surrounding the diagnosis of autism. Although I voted on the "no" side of this issue, in truth much is still unknown about autism.
Let me begin by providing a bit of history around this popular diagnosis. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)is commonly referred to as the "bible" of mental health professionals. The third edition of the DSM, or the DSM-III, published in the 1980's, was the first edition in which autism was included as a mental health diagnosis. Prior to this time, autism was a diagnosis given by family physicians to explain certain symptoms observed in children.
With the publication of the DSM-III, mental health professionals could now begin to use this diagnosis, and the number of children diagnosed with this disorder began to rise. In 1994, the fourth edition of the DSM, or the DSM-IV, was published. One of the major changes made in the DSM-IV was the addition of a sort of "continuum" of autistic disorders. Instead of having one category of autism, we now have five categories encompassing varying symptomatology manifested by those with an autistic disorder.
When various media outlets report a drastic increase in the number of children with autism, they fail to also point out that prior to the 1980's, mental health professionals did not use this diagnosis. With the addition of the continuum of autistic disorders in the DSM-IV, mental health professionals now have five different labels with which to diagnose individuals, and all of those labels are lumped together under the category of "autism." It is to be expected that once a new diagnosis is available for use, it will be used. Hence, a possible explanation for the drastic increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism.
Many of the children that now fall somewhere on the "autism spectrum" simply did not have a diagnosis prior to the 1990's. They may have been thought of as odd, or mentally retarded, or backwards, but there was no label available for use. The children may have existed prior to the 1990's, but the label did not.
In addition to this, the term "autism" was coined long before many inoculations were available. Does this mean inoculations do not increase the chances of autism? Not necessarily, but current studies have repeatedly shown no definitive link between inoculations and autism. There is no consistent evidence of brain lesions, no proof of cause by inoculations, and no proof of an environmental cause.
Having said that, more studies do need to be done to determine if, in fact, autism is increasing, and if so, why. For the media to continue to perpetuate information that has not been determined creates harm in the long run, because more and more families are now refusing to have their children inoculated, and now diseases that had been virtually eradicated are once again on the rise. Before taking that chance, we must first prove a definitive link between inoculations and autism, and to date, one has not been found.
While autism is indeed real, and families do indeed struggle, perpetuating the dissemination of unproven theories and erroneous information only detracts from finding a real solution to a real problem. The answer lies in continued study of autism, its prevalence, and its causes.
Learn more about this author, Melinda Clayton.
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