Psychology

Immunizations do not cause Autism
The measles, mumps and rubella commonly known as MMR vaccine controversy was first raised in the year 1998 following a publication by The Lancet, a medical journal highly respected. This paper claimed that MMR vaccine could have been a major cause of autism. MMR vaccine makes use of live viruses during children immunization against mumps, measles and rubella, some of the fatal and disabling illnesses in children. In the year 1994, MMR vaccine was mandated for children who had attained school age (DeWilde, et al, 2001). Following this mandated vaccine of MMR on these fatal diseases, cases of autism diagnoses have increased with most of these occurring several months following the MMR vaccine in children. Despite the fact that research institutions have continually denied the claims that MMR vaccine causes autism, this issue still remains very controversial. Claims that autism diagnoses occurs few months after a child is given an MMR shot raises the question of whether there is any possible connection between autism and immunization (Rudy, 2009).

Autism refers to a developmental disorder that is usually characterized by communication and social interaction defects and also repetitive and stereotyped behaviors. It is a condition exhibited following behavior and brain development abnormalities and its symptoms appear before a child attains the age of three years. Children suffering from autism have eating difficulties and also restrictions on food choices range. According to Dr Wakefield, the researcher who published the 1998 article showing correlation of autism and MMR immunization, he proposed that virus interaction could lead to three negative impacts thus leading to autism. The three impacts were viruses interaction could lead to destruction of the immune system, a common characteristic of autism, could lead to persistent gastrointestinal tract infection and lastly could lead to brain damage in the long run hence causing autism. This led most people to believe that there was a correlation between autism and MMR immunization (Taylor et al, 1999).

Close examination of Wakefields claims revealed that the research was fatally flawed. One of the flaws was that being a gastroenterologist, Wakefield studied only eight children all of whom had originally been presented with problems related to gastrointestinal complications. He also did not employ random sampling further weakening his claims and his sample size of only eight children was deemed to be too small for such conclusions. Lastly, from the report given by Dr. Wakefield, no conclusive proof was given suggesting or alienating measles virus in guts of autistic children hence connecting it to autism. Following Wakefields claims, several large epidemiologic research studies have been carried out by centers for disease control and prevention, the United Kingdom health service, institute of medicine of the national academy of sciences and lastly by Cochrane library. Among all these research groups, no group has so far found any link between autism and immunization as claimed by Dr. Wakefield. According to the systematic review of Cochrane library, MMR vaccine has helped in preventing some of the diseases associated with death and complications in children (DeStefano  Thompson, 2004).

Further probe to the Wakefields study and subsequent report on possible connection between autism and MMR immunization found out that prior to the study, Dr. Wakefield had tried to seek to file for a rival vaccine patent that was meant to use technology but the vaccine had lacked scientific credibility. It was also found out that Dr. Wakefield had been funded by British trial lawyers who were looking for evidence against MMR vaccine manufacturers. In the year 2009, it was reported by Sunday Times that the 1998 report presented by Wakefield were misreported and patient data had been altered so as to create a link between immunization and autism and an American court denied the autistic childrens parents compensation (Rudy, 2009).

So far, different researches have been carried out by credible health organization groups on possible linkage between immunization and autism and all of them find no correlation or connection. Also, with Dr. Wakefields interest in patenting his own immunizations against MMR and the subsequent funding by trial lawyers who were against MMR manufacturers, it is evident that Wakefield, who brought about the MMR vaccine controversy, had personal interests that made him misreport his findings. There is no correlation between immunization and autism. In other words, immunization against measles, rubella and mumps does not cause autism in children.