The first systematic international review of childhood vaccinations has found no evidence of a link to the development of autism.
The review, published in Vaccine, examined five cohort studies involving more than 1.25 million children, as well as five case-control studies involving more than 9920 children obtained via systematic searches of several international medical databases.
Both the cohort and case-control studies revealed no statistical data to support a relationship between the development of autism and childhood vaccination for measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough. “There has been enormous debate regarding the possibility of a link between these commonly used and safe childhood vaccinations and the supposed development of autism,” said senior author A/Prof Guy Eslick of the Sydney Medical School.
“This has in recent times become a major public health issue, with vaccine-preventable diseases rapidly increasing in the community due to the fear of a ‘link’ between vaccinations and autism. This is especially concerning given the fact that there have been 11 measles outbreaks in the US since 2000, and NSW also saw a spike in measles infections from early 2012 to late 2012,” Eslick said.
“Vaccine-preventable diseases clearly still hold a presence in modern-day society, and the decision to opt out of vaccination...
