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Dept of Health

Answer

Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the incidence of autism in children who were vaccinated with the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (a) before attaining the age of three and (b) after attaining the age of three. [145185] Miss Melanie Johnson: [holding answer 5 January 2004]: In the last few years a number of epidemiological studies have examined the postulated link between MMR and autism and have found no association. Some of these studies (Taylor et al, 1999; Farrington et al, 2001; Madsen et al, 2003, Jick & Kaye, 2003) have specifically looked at rates of autism in populations who have had MMR and populations who have not had MMR. These studies did not find an increased reported rate of autism in MMR immunised children when compared with children who had not had MMR. Moreover, the recent study by Farrington et al, 2001 showed no temporal association between MMR and onset of autism at any time following MMR. References: Jick H. & Kaye JA. Special Article: Epidemiology and Possible Causes of Autism. Pharmacotherapy 2003; 23:1524-1530. Taylor B, Miller , et al. Autism and measles, mumps and rubella: no epidemiotogical evidence for a causal association. The Lancet 1999; 353:2026-9. Farrington CP, Miller E, Taylor B. MMR and autism: further evidence against a causal association. Vaccine 2001; 9:3632-65. Madsen KM, Hivid A, et al. A population-based study of measles, mumps and rubella vaccination and autism. New England Journal of Medicine. 2002; 347:1477-1482.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

416 c1060W;416 c1058-9W; 145185

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Children Autism Diagnosis Rubella Research Vaccination Side effects MMR vaccine Measles Mumps

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk