Introduction: What Parents Need to Know
Michael Fitzpatrick in Mmr And Autism, 2004
The MMR vaccine is highly effective in preventing measles, mumps and rubella. Since its introduction in Britain, these once common diseases have become rare and a generation of children has been spared the illness, disability and death that these diseases can cause. In some countries, such as Finland, measles has been virtually eliminated (a few cases have been reported among newly arriving immigrants). In the USA, measles is now largely associated with imported cases (notably from Japan, where, for historical reasons, immunisation uptake is relatively low, and where around 100,000 cases every year cause between 50 and 100 deaths) (Noble, Miyasaka 2003). As a result of the anti-MMR campaign, the goal of measles eradication in Britain—within reach in the mid-1990s—is now unlikely to be achieved in the foreseeable future.
What is a good healthcare system?
Gillies Alan in What Makes a Good Healthcare System?, 2018
However, sometimes the intervention of the system can have a negative effect. In the current furore over the measles–mumps–rubella (MMR) vaccine, the more the healthcare professionals seek to reassure parents that the vaccine is safe, the greater the opposition appears to be, and the greater the belief that there is some sort of cover-up going on. This may be an example of what Professor Bob Evans, the distinguished Canadian health economist, refers to as a ‘zombie’ idea:12 an idea that will not die and the harder you knock it down, the sooner it appears to come back again to haunt you! Ultimately, it is impossible to prove a negative, and sometimes efforts to do so can be counter-productive. For example, at the height of the scare over the MMR, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) fast-tracked a paper13 to publication. A group of healthcare professionals who were well disposed to the vaccine thought the evidence presented in this paper was poor and sent an electronic response to the BMJ to this effect (look at the electronic responses accompanying the article on the BMJ website). This apparently limited success in killing the zombie can resurrect it even more quickly!
Chapter 2 Overview
Emily Blount, Helen Kirby-Blount, Liz Moulton in The Complete CSA Casebook, 2017
The scare regarding the MMR vaccine and autism came about in 1998 after a study was published in the Lancet. The study claimed that the MMR vaccine had been linked to regression (loss of skills), autistic spec- trum disorders, inflammation of the small intestine (enterocolitis) and that children with autism had higher levels of measles antibodies in their bloodstream. Since this study the claims have been widely discredited in follow-up studies looking into these claims. There were some flaws in the original study which could have led to bias. Based on the subsequent trials there is no reason to suspect that the MMR vaccine is linked to autism, and therefore the MMR is recommended by the World Health Organization as it is more effective than giving the separate vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella. Interestingly, the rates of autism continued to increase in Japan even after the vaccine had been withdrawn, adding further evidence of no causal link.
Can a Measles Epidemic Be Avoided in 2022?
Published in Comprehensive Child and Adolescent Nursing, 2022
In contemporary societies, the combined Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine can prevent measles. In the United Kingdom, for example, this vaccine is given as part of the routine National Health Service childhood vaccination program. Uptake of the vaccine within many societies remained high up until 1998 when Andrew Wakefield, an English doctor, published a peer-reviewed research paper in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet that claimed an association between the vaccine and autism and bowel disease. The paper was later retracted by the journal when it was suggested that the author had committed academic fraud. Although the study was discredited, the publicity surrounding the subject had a profound effect on vaccine uptake by concerned parents. The controversy linked to the Wakefield publication had a damaging impact on overall compliance to childhood immunization protocols, and vaccination rates fell from 90% to 54% after the article was published. This resulted in a subsequent public health crisis in the United Kingdom as population protection against these childhood diseases fell dramatically. This was because many parents became convinced that their children risked neurological damage if they were vaccinated without fully understanding the more dangerous risks of not vaccinating their children (Levin et al., 2022).
Intralesional measles–mumps–rubella is associated with a higher complete response in cutaneous warts: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trial including GRADE qualification
Published in Journal of Dermatological Treatment, 2021
Rachel Vania, Raymond Pranata, Sukmawati Tansil Tan
A Cochrane pooled review found for the efficacy of topical 5-fluorouracil, intralesional interferons and photodynamic therapy (5). However, they are potentially hazardous or toxic treatments and result in more pain than the lesion itself; therefore, careful consideration on the benefit-to-risk ratio is advised (1,3,6). The reported locally destructive treatment encompassing caustic agents (ablation, cryotherapy, salicylic acid) to antiproliferative agents have reported variable range of clearance rate, but ultimately results in scarring (7,8). Meanwhile, a systemic immunotherapeutic maneuvers such as intralesional antigens and vaccines have gained interest for a higher efficacy with tolerable side effects (8–13). Several trials have shown the successful application of mumps–measles–rubella (MMR) vaccine resulting in complete clearance of warts (14), defined as eradication of the treated area. It is hypothesized that the vaccine increases the ability of the immune system to recognize and destroy the antigen and infected cells, while establishing efficacy and safety (7,14). In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we aimed to collect the latest evidence on the efficacy of MMR vaccine as immunotherapy for cutaneous warts.
COVID-19 in health-care workers: lessons from SARS and MERS epidemics and perspectives for chemoprophylaxis and vaccines.
Published in Expert Review of Vaccines, 2020
Rémi Labetoulle, Maëlle Detoc, Julie Gagnaire, Philippe Berthelot, Carole Pelissier, Luc Fontana, Elisabeth Botelho-Nevers, Amandine Gagneux-Brunon
Beyond the development of new vaccines, the concept of ‘trained immunity’ leads to the repositioning of existing vaccines in the prevention of COVID-19. Some authors suggested that BCG may protect from COVID-19. It is assumed that BCG vaccination has a nonspecific protective role against nonrelated pathogens like viruses. Incidence and mortality seem to be lower in countries with a universal BCG vaccination [85,86]. In a recent study, the rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection in BCG-vaccinated and non-BCG vaccinated was not different in a cohort of Israeli adults aged 35 to 41 years [87]. According to clinicaltrials.gov, 10 clinical trials are undergoing to evaluate BCG to prevent COVID-19 in HCWs [88]. In the same vein, the authors hypothesized that the MMR vaccine may also protect from COVID-19 [89]. In clinicaltrials.gov, two clinical trials will start in HCWs using the MMR vaccine [90].