The MMR vaccine protects children from measles, mumps and rubella. The first dose is routinely given to children aged 12-15 months. The second dose is given between 3 and 5 years as part of the preschool booster programme.

 

 

• There is virtually unanimous agreement from the scientific and medical communities that MMR is the best way to help protect our children against the potentially very serious diseases of measles, mumps and rubella.
• MMR was introduced in to the UK paediatric schedule in 1988. Since then, MMR has helped protect millions of UK children against serious illness and death.
• No country in the world recommends single vaccines over MMR. Over 500 million doses of MMR have been given to children in over 90 countries.²

There is no source of licensed single measles, mumps or rubella vaccine in the UK. Those that are being offered privately are unlicensed in the UK.

"Scare stories clearly worry parents but giving children separate vaccines unnecessarily exposes them to the risk of life-threatening infection. MMR remains the safest way to protect our children." Chief Medical Officer for England,Professor Liam Donaldson3

Media coverage of MMR has damaged public confidence in the vaccine which has had an effect on immunisation rates. However public confidence is improving and immunisation rates are increasing.

 

 

Since the introduction of MMR, the incidence of measles, mumps and rubella has decreased dramatically. When a country has appropriate levels of vaccine coverage the diseases are rare. However, if there were no immunisation in place these diseases would become more commonplace and would then have a serious impact on the health of children.

MEASLES⁴

• Measles is a highly contagious acute viral illness transmitted via airborne droplets.
• Symptoms of disease include rash, fever, cough, swollen glands, loss of appetite, red and painful eyes.
• Children may have to spend 5 days in bed and up to 10 days off school. Adults are likely to be ill for longer.
• One in 15 children with measles develops complications including ear problems, bronchitis, pneumonia and fits.
• One in 1,000 children develops encephalitis (inflammation of the brain).

MUMPS⁴

• Mumps is an acute viral illness characterised by swelling of the glands in the neck on one or both sides.
• Mumps is transmissible both before and after the swelling appears.
• 60-70% of those infected develop symptoms such as painful and swollen glands, fever, headache and abdominal pain.
• Complications can include pancreatitis, inflammation of the ovary (oophoritis) or testis (orchitis), sterility and permanent unilateral deafness.
• Before the introduction of the combination measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, mumps was a common cause of viral meningitis.

RUBELLA⁴

• Rubella is a mild infectious disease causing a transient rash and occasionally in adults, arthritis and arthralgia.
• Those infected develop symptoms including fever, headache, rash, sore throat, joint pains and swollen glands.
• Rubella infection in the first eight to ten weeks of pregnancy results in Congenital Rubella Syndrome in 90% of babies born.
• Congenital Rubella Syndrome can result in babies being born with deafness, blindness, heart problems, brain damage and other serious problems.
• Since the introduction of routine vaccination against rubella, reports of Congenital Rubella Syndrome have fallen by more than 90%, as have terminations of pregnancy because of rubella infection.

 

Discussion around the safety of MMR vaccination has created alarm amongst some parents, which has at times, resulted in a drop in MMR immunisation rates. This may have had potentially devastating consequences for the health of the nation's children.

The MMR health scare was sparked after a small scale study was published in The Lancet in 1998. Dr Andrew Wakefield, the lead author, claimed the MMR vaccine could be implicated in a new syndrome where children developed inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and a form of autism.

Since the study publication in 1998, there have been extensive and in-depth investigations of this allegation which have unanimously reached the same conclusion. There is NO LINK between the MMR vaccine and IBD and autism.

No credible scientific evidence shows an association between MMR and autism. The Wakefield study of 1998 actually said "We did not prove an association between MMR vaccine and the syndrome described" and no studies undertaken since have been able to support the theory.

However, there have been numerous studies done that show the MMR vaccine to be safe and highly effective.

In September 2004, a study published in The Lancet showed that children who received the MMR vaccine were no more likely to develop autism than those who did not. The study conducted by the Medical Research Council examined the medical records of nearly 1300 children in the UK diagnosed with autism or similar conditions and compared them to a control group of over 4,500 children, The results demonstrate that children who received the combined MMR vaccine were no more likely to develop autism than those children who did not receive the jab. The lead researcher, Dr Liam Smeeth said "We hope the results of this study, the most robust and comprehensive undertaken to date, will reassure parents that MMR is not associated with increased risk of developing autism."⁵

Although MMR vaccines do not contain thiomersal, there have been unproven suggestions of a link between thiomersal-containing vaccines and autism. A recent study, published in the American journal Pediatrics in July 2006, showed that autism rates in Canada continued to rise after thiomersal was removed from vaccines. The authors of the paper conclude that this study showed no evidence of a link between thiomersal-containing vaccines and rates of autism.⁶

The overwhelming evidence from worldwide experience is that the MMR vaccine remains the safest way to protect children against these three potentially serious diseases. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has stated: "WHO strongly supports the use of the MMR vaccine on the grounds of its convincing record of safety and efficacy"⁷

THE FOLLOWING HIGHLY RESPECTED MEDICAL BODIES ENDORSE THE SAFETY OF MMR^8,9

• MHRA (formerly known as Committee on Safety of Medicines)
• Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation
• Working group of the MRC reporting in 1998 and 2000
• Health Protection Agency Centre for Infection
• Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
• World Health Organisation
• Royal College of General Practitioners
• Royal College of Nursing
• Community Practitioners & Health Visitors Association

For further information see www.mmrthefacts.nhs.uk

 

 

1. Health Promotion England. MMR The Facts leaflet. 2001
   
2. Health Promotion England. MMR The Facts Information Pack 2003
   
3. Department of Health press release 12th January 2001
   
4. Salisbury DM, Ramsay M, Noakes K (Eds.) 2006 Immunisation Against Infectious Disease. TSO 2006
   
5. Smeeth L et al MMR vaccination and pervasive developmental disorders: a case-control study Lancet 2004 364(9438) 963-969
   
6. Fombonne E et al. Pervasive Developmental Disorders in Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Prevalence and Links With Immunizations. PEDIATRICS Vol. 118 No. 1 July 2006, pp. e139-e150 (doi:10.1542/peds.2005-2993)
   
7. Department of Health. CMO letter. Current vaccine and immunisation issues. 9th March 2001
   
8. Current Problems in Pharmacovigilance. Medicines Control Agency. Volume 27, February 2001.
   
9. The Royal College of General Practitioners. Professional bodies endorse the continuing use of the combined MMR vaccine. Press release 22/01/01.