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Before the widespread use of a vaccine against measles, the incidence of measles was so high that in 2004, any patient over the age of 55 is assumed to have had had measles in the past. Today, because of vaccination, the incidence of measles in countries with routine childhood vaccination has fallen to less than 1% of people under the age of 30. Measles has a significant complication rate which includes pneumonitis and encephalitis.
Studies have shown that vaccination markedly reduces the mortality rate due to measles (CDC report on effect of vaccination against measles in Africa between 1996- 2002).
Mumps is another viral disease of childhood that used to be very common. A known but relatively rare complication of mumps is causing sterility in males.
Rubella, otherwise known as German measles was also very common before the advent of widespread immunization against it. The major risk in rubella is if a pregnant woman is infected, her baby may contract congenital rubella which can cause significant congenital defects.
All three diseases are highly contagious.
The MMR vaccine was designed to be a single-shot vaccine that protects against all three viral diseases. Significant improvements in reducing the incidence and therefore, the complications of the three diseases above has been attributed to widespread population vaccination with MMR.
Whilst there are known but rare side effects from using the MMR vaccine, in the public health perspective the overall benefit to the population is vastly in favour of continued vaccination.
Controversy has arisen because some scientistsFor the scientific journal named Science see Science (journal). Science is both a process of gaining knowledge, and the organized body of knowledge gained by this process. The scientific process is the systematic acquisition of new knowledge about a syste and parents claim that the vaccine may be linked to the development of a number of conditions, such as autismAutism refers to a spectrum of disorders, and lies somewhere under the umbrella of a greater encompassing spectrum, that of pervasive developmental disorders that involve the functioning of the brain. Autism as a term is most commonly used to refer to cla, bowel disorders such as Crohn's diseaseCrohn's Disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the alimentary tract and it can involve any part of it from the mouth to the anus. It typically affects the terminal ileum and well demarcated areas of large bowel with relatively normal bowel. It is of, and the brain disorder Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseaseCreutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD is a lethal brain disorder characterized by memory loss, jerky movements, gait disorder, rigid posture, and seizures due to a rapid loss of cerebral cells caused by transmissible proteins called prions. The disease is correc (CJD).
During the 1980sMillennia: 1st millennium 2nd millennium 3rd millennium Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s Years: 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Events and trends and 1990sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s 2040s Years: Events and trends Computers, technology Explosive growth of the Internet; decrease in the cost of computers and other techn, a number of lawsuits were brought in the United States against manufacturers of vaccines, alleging that the vaccines had caused a variety of physical and mental disorders in children. While these were inconclusive, they did lead to a massive jump in the costs of the MMR vaccine as pharmaceutical companies sought to cover potential liabilities. By 1993, Merck KGaA had become the only company willing to sell MMR vaccines in the United States and the United Kingdom. Two other MMR vaccines were withdrawn in the UK in 1992 on safety grounds.
In September 1995, the Legal Aid Board in the UK granted a number of families financial assistance to pursue legal claims against the state health authorities and the vaccine's manufacturers, claiming that their children were killed or seriously injured by the MMR vaccine. A pressure group called JABS (Justice, Awareness, Basic Support) was established to represent 800 families with children who were "vaccine-damaged."
In 1996, a controversy broke out in New Zealand concerning an allegation that the MMR vaccine could spread CJD. A Melbourne University academic claimed that MMR contained a human blood product, serum albumin, and could therefore spread CJD. The controversy died down after doctors highlighted the fact that serum albumin is not an ingredient of the MMR vaccine.
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