Wakefield Article Consequences and Current Vaccination

In 1998, Wakefield et al. claimed that they had found in a link between the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism (Eggertson). This was “concluded” with the use of a cohort consisting of 12 children who were suffering from “chronic enterocolitis and regressive developmental disorder” (Eggertson E199). The participating children were recruited from the “Royal Free Hospital and School of Medicine” where they were purposely selected for the case series study (Eggertson E1999). In addition, some of their families were involved in lawsuits with vaccine companies and their lawyers were providing money for the research (Eggertson). The study design, small sample size, and the unethical practices are all alarming aspects of this study (Rao and Andrade).

After its publication, other researchers conducted additional studies and it was soon clear that this proposed link did not exist (Rao and Andrade). Also, most authors that cited the original Wakefield publication (about 73%), did not agree with the findings (Suelzer et al.). Unfortunately, the damage had already been done and many parents no longer wanted to vaccinate their children (Eggertson). As a result, the number of measles outbreaks rose in the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada (Eggertson).

Today, to prevent and control outbreaks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) work with various stakeholders and local organizations to identify any current measles cases and increase vaccination; this seems to be a successful approach since overall, many Americans are vaccinated (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Due to a recent increase in mumps outbreaks, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) now recommends receiving a third dose of the MMR vaccine (Marin et al.). Similarly, to control varicella outbreaks, a second dose of the vaccine was added to the vaccine schedule for children in 2006 (Lopez and Marin). Worldwide efforts to reduce measles and rubella infections are also currently underway. The World Health Organization (WHO) is working in different regions to eliminate measles and rubella infections by the year 2020 through their Global Vaccine Action Plan (World Health Organization). Hopefully, worldwide efforts to increase vaccination rates will lead to fewer and fewer outbreaks, making these diseases a relic of the past.

References:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Measles Elimination in the U.S. 2019, https://www.cdc.gov/measles/elimination.html.

Eggertson, Laura. “Lancet Retracts 12-Year-Old Article Linking Autism to MMR Vaccines.” CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association Journal = Journal de l’Association Medicale Canadienne, vol. 182, no. 4, 9 Mar. 2010, doi:10.1503/cmaj.109-3179.

Lopez, Adriana, and Mona Marin. Strategies for the Control and Investigation of Varicella Outbreaks Manual, 2008. 2018, https://www.cdc.gov/chickenpox/outbreaks/manual.html.

Marin, Mona, et al. “Recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for Use of a Third Dose of Mumps Virus–Containing Vaccine in Persons at Increased Risk for Mumps during an Outbreak.” MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, vol. 67, no. 1, Jan. 2018, pp. 33–38, doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6701a7.

Rao, T. S. Sathyanarayan., and Chittaranjan Andrade. “The MMR Vaccine and Autism: Sensation, Refutation, Retraction, and Fraud.” Indian Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 53, no. 2, Apr. 2011, pp. 95–96, doi:10.4103/0019-5545.82529.

Suelzer, Elizabeth M., et al. “Assessment of Citations of the Retracted Article by Wakefield et Al with Fraudulent Claims of an Association between Vaccination and Autism.” JAMA Network Open, vol. 2, no. 11, NLM (Medline), Nov. 2019, p. e1915552, doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.15552.

World Health Organization. Measles. 2020, https://www.who.int/immunization/diseases/measles/en/.