Ninety per cent of two year old children in the UK have received their first dose of the MMR vaccine – the highest level for 13 years, says the Health Protection Agency.
But this is still short of the 95% uptake rate which would stop the spread of the disease in the community.

A measles epidemic spreading across Europe in recent months is thought to be behind the rise in immunisations.

The HPA is urging parents to vaccinate their children before they travel.

In the UK, two doses of the MMR vaccine are usually given, the first at around 12 months and the second around the time of starting school.

The increase in the number of children aged two receiving their first dose is a 0.6% rise on the previous quarter.

The uptake rate for two doses in children aged five increased by 0.3% from the previous quarter to 85.1%, show the HPA’s figures.

Children who received their first dose of the MMR vaccine by the age of 5 in the UK remains at 92.8%.

Dr Mary Ramsay, head of the immunisation department at the HPA, said she was pleased by the figures.

“We’re very encouraged to see that UK MMR uptake has reached 90 per cent in children aged two, indicating increasing levels of trust by parents in the immunisation programme.”

The Health Protection Agency says that in England and Wales there has been a total of 496 confirmed measles cases between January and May 2011.

This is more than the 374 total for the whole of last year.

It says the new cases of measles in England and Wales are predominately in children and adults under 19 years old, the vast majority of whom are unvaccinated.

The outbreak is thought to be linked to an epidemic in Europe where more than 11,000 cases have been reported across 35 European countries in the first four months of this year.

In France, where the outbreak appears to have started, more than 7,000 cases were reported between January and April this year.

Dr Ramsay said families should plan to vaccinate their children before the summer.

“It’s that time of year when children are travelling on school trips and family holidays and we are reminding parents and young adults of the importance of immunisation before they travel.

“We cannot stress enough that measles is serious and in some cases it can be fatal.”

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13903374

The number of cases of measles in the first five months of this year have surpassed the total for the whole of 2010, according to new data.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) reported 496 cases of measles in England and Wales up to the end of May this year, compared with 374 for the whole of 2010.

Most cases were in London and the South East, and children and teenagers were most commonly affected.

Small outbreaks have occurred in universities, schools and families, and there have been links with travel abroad after a surge in cases across Europe.

HPA data also show a rise in the proportion of children having the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

The first MMR vaccination is given when youngsters are around 13 months of age, with a booster jab before they start school (usually between the ages of three and five).

Among youngsters aged two, quarterly figures for January to March show 90% had received their first jab – the highest level for 13 years and a 0.6% rise on the previous quarter.

The figures showed that by the age of five, 92.8% of children had received their first dose.

However, not all parents take their child back for the second dose. Among children aged five at the start of the year, only 85.1% had received both doses.

Dr Mary Ramsay, head of the immunisation department at the HPA, said: “We’re very encouraged to see that UK MMR uptake has reached 90% in children aged two, indicating increasing levels of trust by parents in the immunisation programme.

“We’re on the way to reaching our goal of 95% uptake. But anyone who missed out on MMR as a child will continue to be at risk of measles, which explains why we are seeing these new cases in a broad age range.

“It’s that time of year when children are travelling on school trips and family holidays and we are reminding parents and young adults of the importance of immunisation before they travel.

“We cannot stress enough that measles is serious and in some cases it can be fatal.”

From: http://www.independent.co.uk/measles-cases-pass-total-for-2010

A mother whose son suffered severe brain damage after being given the MMR vaccine as a baby has been awarded £90,000 compensation.
Jackie Fletcher has campaigned for compensation for her son Robert – now 18 – because she believed his severe epilepsy was triggered by the jab.

Now a tribunal has ordered that the payment be made, after concluding that it could be “no coincidence” that he suffered his first seizure 10 days after being vaccinated.

All injections carry the risk of extreme reactions, and in rare cases, children have been left brain-damaged by them.

The Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme does not examine the safety of particular jabs, but the likelihood that the process caused a reaction.

However, the payout for damage following a MMR jab the first to be known about since a major public scare about its safety, following research in 1998 that suggested the vaccine caused autism. The study, now discredited, provoked widespread public concerns about the safety of the vaccine.

The payment agreed by the Government compensation scheme is likely to reignite the debate over the safety of common childhood vaccines.

Robert Fletcher, from Warrington, in Cheshire, is unable to talk, stand unaided or feed himself. He suffered the effects after being given the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine when he was 13 months old.

In a six-page judgment, the panel which examined the case said: ‘Robert was a more or less fit boy who, within the period usually considered relevant to immunisation, developed a severe convulsion … and he then went on to be epileptic and severely retarded. The seizure occurred ten days after the vaccination. In our view, this cannot be put down to coincidence.”

The panel said the reaction only happened because the child had a genetic predisposition to epilepsy, but said that “on the balance of probabilities” the vaccination triggered the onset of the condition.

Mrs Fletcher said she believed the compensation award was the first to a surviving MMR-damaged person since controversy erupted in 1998 when the now discredited Dr Andrew Wakefield raised concerns about a possible link between the combined MMR injection and autism.

Mrs Fletcher runs pressure group JABS – Justice, Awareness and Basic Support. Around 2,000 families seeking compensation for their vaccine-damaged children are registered with the group, which provides advice and support.

‘My husband John and I have battled for 18 years for the cause of Robert’s disability to be officially recognised,’ she said.

‘We were told the vaccine was perfectly safe. Like most people, we trusted what the doctors and nurses were putting to us.

‘Robert is nearly 19 but mentally he is like a 14-month-old toddler. He can’t stand unaided and he is doubly incontinent.

‘He can’t speak except to say “Hi, Mum” or “Hi, Daddy”.

Her first application for compensation was rejected in 1997 on the grounds that it was impossible to prove beyond reasonable doubt what had caused Robert’s illness.

But Mrs Fletcher appealed and in a ruling delivered last week, a new panel of experts came to a different conclusion.

The one-day hearing last week was chaired by a barrister sitting with two doctors. While one said the child would have developed epilepsy regardless of whether he had been given the vaccine, he was overruled by his two colleagues.

The panel said that the judgement was specific to the particular case and should not be seen as a precedent. It underlined in particular that the ruling had no relevance to the question of a link between MMR vaccine and autism.

Dr Michael Fitzpatrick, a London GP whose own son is autistic, said: ‘It is a very important principle that parents should be compensated in cases of this kind.

‘But although a causal link has been established in law in this instance, exhaustive scientific research has failed to establish any link between MMR and brain damage.

This case should not make parents feel any different about the safety of the vaccine”.’

A spokesman for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, which collects data on adverse reactions to drugs and vaccines, said although the vaccine could, on rare occasions, cause a temporary fever fit, there remained no confirmed evidence that these caused long-term brain injury.

He added: “The benefits of MMR vaccine in preventing serious and life threatening infections far outweigh any known side effects of the vaccine”.

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/Mother-wins-MMR-payout-after-18-years

The doctor who first suggested a link between MMR vaccinations and autism will appeal being struck off the medical register.

The General Medical Council found Dr Andrew Wakefield guilty of serious professional misconduct over the way he carried out his controversial research.It follows a GMC ruling earlier this year that he had acted unethically.

Dr Wakefield, who is now based in the US, has consistently claimed the allegations are unfair. He now says he will appeal against the verdict.

His 1998 Lancet study caused vaccination rates to plummet, resulting in a rise in measles – but the findings were later discredited.

The GMC ruled in January Dr Wakefield had acted “dishonestly and irresponsibly” in conducting his research, but under its procedures the sanctions are made at a later date.

The case did not investigate whether Dr Wakefield’s findings were right or wrong, instead it focused on the methods of research.

During the two-and-a-half-year case, the longest in GMC history, he was accused of carrying out invasive tests on vulnerable children which were against their best interests.

The GMC also said Dr Wakefield, who was working at London’s Royal Free Hospital as a gastroenterologist at the time, did not have the ethical approval or relevant qualifications for such tests.

And the panel hearing the case took exception with the way he gathered blood samples. Dr Wakefield paid children £5 for the samples at his son’s birthday party.

It also said Dr Wakefield should have disclosed the fact that he had been paid to advise solicitors acting for parents who believed their children had been harmed by the MMR.

In making the verdict on the sanctions, Dr Surendra Kumar, the panel’s chairman, said Dr Wakefield had “brought the medical profession into disrepute” and his behaviour constituted “multiple separate instances of serious professional misconduct”.

In total, he was found guilty of more than 30 charges.

Dr Kumar also explained the reasoning for striking Dr Wakefield off.

“The panel concluded that it is the only sanction that is appropriate to protect patients and is in the wider public interest, including the maintenance of public trust and confidence in the profession, and is proportionate to the serious and wide-ranging findings made against him.”

Dr Wakefield has consistently claimed the allegations against him were “unfounded and unjust”.

As the GMC announced its sanctions, Dr Wakefield said: “Efforts to discredit and silence me through the GMC process have provided a screen to shield the government from exposure on the MMR vaccine scandal.”

Two of his former colleagues at the Royal Free were also ruled to have broken guidelines.

Professor John Walker-Smith and Professor Simon Murch both helped Dr Wakefield carry out the research.

Professor Walker-Smith, who is 73 and has been retired for the past 10 years, was found guilty of serious professional misconduct and struck off the register. Professor Murch was found not guilty of serious professional misconduct despite there not being ethical approval for the research.

In explaining this decision, Dr Kumar said he took into account the fact that Professor Murch stopped carrying out tests on children for the study because he did not think they were necessary.