Dad
02-13-2006, 06:42 AM
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article_id=376203&in_page_id=1774&in_a_source=
Former science chief: 'MMR fears coming true'
A former Government medical officer responsible for
deciding whether medicines are safe has accused the
Government of "utterly inexplicable complacency" over
the MMR triple vaccine for children.
Dr Peter Fletcher, who was Chief Scientific Officer at
the Department of Health, said if it is proven that
the jab causes autism, "the refusal by governments to
evaluate the risks properly will make this one of the
greatest scandals in medical history".
He added that after agreeing to be an expert witness
on drug-safety trials for parents' lawyers, he had
received and studied thousands of documents relating
to the case which he believed the public had a right
to see.
He said he has seen a "steady accumulation of
evidence" from scientists worldwide that the measles,
mumps and rubella jab is causing brain damage in
certain children.
But he added: "There are very powerful people in
positions of great authority in Britain and elsewhere
who have staked their reputations and careers on the
safety of MMR and they are willing to do almost
anything to protect themselves."
His warning follows reports that the Government is
this week planning to announce the addition of a jab
against pneumococcal meningitis for babies, probably
from next April. It is also considering flu jabs for
under-twos - not to protect the children, but adults
they may infect.
In the late Seventies, Dr Fletcher served as Chief
Scientific Officer at the DoH and Medical Assessor to
the Committee on Safety of Medicines, meaning he was
responsible for deciding if new vaccines were safe.
He first expressed concerns about MMR in 2001, saying
safety trials before the vaccine's introduction in
Britain were inadequate.
Now he says the theoretical fears he raised appear to
be becoming reality.
He said the rising tide of autism cases and growing
scientific understanding of autism-related bowel
disease have convinced him the MMR vaccine may be to
blame.
"Clinical and scientific data is steadily accumulating
that the live measles virus in MMR can cause brain,
gut and immune system damage in a subset of vulnerable
children," he said. "There's no one conclusive piece
of scientific evidence, no 'smoking gun', because
there very rarely is when adverse drug reactions are
first suspected. When vaccine damage in very young
children is involved, it is harder to prove the links.
"But it is the steady accumulation of evidence, from a
number of respected universities, teaching hospitals
and laboratories around the world, that matters here.
There's far too much to ignore. Yet government health
authorities are, it seems, more than happy to do so."
'Why isn't the Government taking this massive public
health problem more seriously?'
Dr Fletcher said he found "this official complacency
utterly inexplicable" in the light of an explosive
worldwide increase in regressive autism and
inflammatory bowel disease in children, which was
first linked to the live measles virus in the MMR jab
by clinical researcher Dr Andrew Wakefield in 1998.
"When scientists first raised fears of a possible link
between mad cow disease and an apparently new, variant
form of CJD they had detected in just 20 or 30
patients, everybody panicked and millions of cows were
slaughtered," said Dr Fletcher.
"Yet there has been a tenfold increase in autism and
related forms of brain damage over the past 15 years,
roughly coinciding with MMR's introduction, and an
extremely worrying increase in childhood inflammatory
bowel diseases and immune disorders such as diabetes,
and no one in authority will even admit it's
happening, let alone try to investigate the causes."
He said there was "no way" the tenfold leap in
autistic children could be the result of better
recognition and definitional changes, as claimed by
health authorities.
"It is highly likely that at least part of this
increase is a vaccinerelated problem." he said. "But
whatever it is, why isn't the Government taking this
massive public health problem more seriously?"
His outspokenness will infuriate health authorities,
who have spent millions of pounds shoring up
confidence in MMR since Dr Wakefield's 1998 statement.
But Dr Fletcher said the Government is undermining
public confidence in vaccine safety by refusing to do
in-depth clinical research to rule out fears of MMR
damage to children.
He added that the risks of brain and gut damage from
MMR injections seem to be much higher in children
where a brother or sister has diabetes, an immune
disorder.
"That is a very strong clinical signal that some
children are immunologically at risk from MMR," he
said. "Why is the Government not investigating it
further - diverting some of the millions of pounds
spent on advertising and PR campaigns to promote MMR
uptake into detailed clinical research instead?"
Now retired after a distinguished 40-year career in
science and medicine in Britain, Europe and the US, Dr
Fletcher said that without such research, health
authorities could not possibly rule out fears about
MMR.
He said: "It is entirely possible that the immune
systems of a small minority simply cannot cope with
the challenge of the three live viruses in the MMR
jab, and the ever-increasing vaccine load in general."
He said he had decided to speak out because of his
deep concern at the lack of treatment for autistic
children with bowel disease, as revealed in The Mail
on Sunday two weeks ago.
He called the sudden termination of legal aid to
parents of allegedly vaccine-damaged children in late
2003 "a monstrous injustice". After agreeing to be a
witness for the parents, he received thousands of
documents relating to the case.
"Now, it seems, unless the parents force the
Government to restore legal aid, much of this
revealing evidence may never come out," he said.
The Department of Health said: "MMR remains the best
protection against measles, mumps and rubella. It is
recognised by the World Health Organisation as having
an outstanding safety record and there is a wealth of
evidence showing children who receive the MMR vaccine
are no more at risk of autism than those who don't."
Former science chief: 'MMR fears coming true'
A former Government medical officer responsible for
deciding whether medicines are safe has accused the
Government of "utterly inexplicable complacency" over
the MMR triple vaccine for children.
Dr Peter Fletcher, who was Chief Scientific Officer at
the Department of Health, said if it is proven that
the jab causes autism, "the refusal by governments to
evaluate the risks properly will make this one of the
greatest scandals in medical history".
He added that after agreeing to be an expert witness
on drug-safety trials for parents' lawyers, he had
received and studied thousands of documents relating
to the case which he believed the public had a right
to see.
He said he has seen a "steady accumulation of
evidence" from scientists worldwide that the measles,
mumps and rubella jab is causing brain damage in
certain children.
But he added: "There are very powerful people in
positions of great authority in Britain and elsewhere
who have staked their reputations and careers on the
safety of MMR and they are willing to do almost
anything to protect themselves."
His warning follows reports that the Government is
this week planning to announce the addition of a jab
against pneumococcal meningitis for babies, probably
from next April. It is also considering flu jabs for
under-twos - not to protect the children, but adults
they may infect.
In the late Seventies, Dr Fletcher served as Chief
Scientific Officer at the DoH and Medical Assessor to
the Committee on Safety of Medicines, meaning he was
responsible for deciding if new vaccines were safe.
He first expressed concerns about MMR in 2001, saying
safety trials before the vaccine's introduction in
Britain were inadequate.
Now he says the theoretical fears he raised appear to
be becoming reality.
He said the rising tide of autism cases and growing
scientific understanding of autism-related bowel
disease have convinced him the MMR vaccine may be to
blame.
"Clinical and scientific data is steadily accumulating
that the live measles virus in MMR can cause brain,
gut and immune system damage in a subset of vulnerable
children," he said. "There's no one conclusive piece
of scientific evidence, no 'smoking gun', because
there very rarely is when adverse drug reactions are
first suspected. When vaccine damage in very young
children is involved, it is harder to prove the links.
"But it is the steady accumulation of evidence, from a
number of respected universities, teaching hospitals
and laboratories around the world, that matters here.
There's far too much to ignore. Yet government health
authorities are, it seems, more than happy to do so."
'Why isn't the Government taking this massive public
health problem more seriously?'
Dr Fletcher said he found "this official complacency
utterly inexplicable" in the light of an explosive
worldwide increase in regressive autism and
inflammatory bowel disease in children, which was
first linked to the live measles virus in the MMR jab
by clinical researcher Dr Andrew Wakefield in 1998.
"When scientists first raised fears of a possible link
between mad cow disease and an apparently new, variant
form of CJD they had detected in just 20 or 30
patients, everybody panicked and millions of cows were
slaughtered," said Dr Fletcher.
"Yet there has been a tenfold increase in autism and
related forms of brain damage over the past 15 years,
roughly coinciding with MMR's introduction, and an
extremely worrying increase in childhood inflammatory
bowel diseases and immune disorders such as diabetes,
and no one in authority will even admit it's
happening, let alone try to investigate the causes."
He said there was "no way" the tenfold leap in
autistic children could be the result of better
recognition and definitional changes, as claimed by
health authorities.
"It is highly likely that at least part of this
increase is a vaccinerelated problem." he said. "But
whatever it is, why isn't the Government taking this
massive public health problem more seriously?"
His outspokenness will infuriate health authorities,
who have spent millions of pounds shoring up
confidence in MMR since Dr Wakefield's 1998 statement.
But Dr Fletcher said the Government is undermining
public confidence in vaccine safety by refusing to do
in-depth clinical research to rule out fears of MMR
damage to children.
He added that the risks of brain and gut damage from
MMR injections seem to be much higher in children
where a brother or sister has diabetes, an immune
disorder.
"That is a very strong clinical signal that some
children are immunologically at risk from MMR," he
said. "Why is the Government not investigating it
further - diverting some of the millions of pounds
spent on advertising and PR campaigns to promote MMR
uptake into detailed clinical research instead?"
Now retired after a distinguished 40-year career in
science and medicine in Britain, Europe and the US, Dr
Fletcher said that without such research, health
authorities could not possibly rule out fears about
MMR.
He said: "It is entirely possible that the immune
systems of a small minority simply cannot cope with
the challenge of the three live viruses in the MMR
jab, and the ever-increasing vaccine load in general."
He said he had decided to speak out because of his
deep concern at the lack of treatment for autistic
children with bowel disease, as revealed in The Mail
on Sunday two weeks ago.
He called the sudden termination of legal aid to
parents of allegedly vaccine-damaged children in late
2003 "a monstrous injustice". After agreeing to be a
witness for the parents, he received thousands of
documents relating to the case.
"Now, it seems, unless the parents force the
Government to restore legal aid, much of this
revealing evidence may never come out," he said.
The Department of Health said: "MMR remains the best
protection against measles, mumps and rubella. It is
recognised by the World Health Organisation as having
an outstanding safety record and there is a wealth of
evidence showing children who receive the MMR vaccine
are no more at risk of autism than those who don't."