By Brian Carnell

Monday, August 19, 2002

American researcher Vijendra Singh fired off a new round of debate over the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine earlier this month with a new study claiming that he found an unusual MMR antibody in 75 children who had autism. Singh claimed that he did not find this antibody in the 92 control children who did not have autism.

Singh argues that autism is an autoimmune disorder that attacks the myelin sheath that protects nerve fibers in the brain.

Singh's study, published in the Journal of Biomedical Science, was criticized by British doctors for making claims that his data do not justify. Great Britain's Public Health Laboratory Service issued a statement saying,

This claim by the authors that they have identified abnormal measles-mumps-rubella antibodies in autistic children is not substantiated by the data in the paper. No abnormal virus-specific antibodies have been demonstrated. The data that they show as evidence that this component is one particular antigen of the measles virus is not credible.

It might not be credible to British doctors, but British citizens are finding the anti-MMR hype convincing. According to the BBC, from December 2001 to March 2002, the level of MMR vaccination fell from 76 percent to 70 percent, but did recover slightly by April to 72 percent. That low level of vaccination increases the risk of a general measles outbreak in Great Britain.

Sources:

Experts reject latest MMR research. The BBC, August 9, 2002.

New study suggests MMR link with autism. Sarah Boseley, The Guardian, August 9, 2002.

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