Government researchers have linked a recent surge in measles infections to some parents' reluctance to vaccinate their children, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
The CDC reported 131 cases of measles in the first seven months of 2008, the greatest number of infections since 1996. Half of these cases were in children who were not inoculated with the commonly used MMR vaccine, which protects young people from measles, mumps and rubella.
Officials believe the culprit could be the increasing number of parents who do not vaccinate their children, due to the belief that the innoculation could lead to the development of autism.
Over the past several years, more and more parents have accepted the notion that vaccines cause autism, but this has been disproved repeatedly by scientific evidence.
For many years, the CDC has been collaborating with leading research institutes around the world in the study of the possible side effects of measles vaccination.
In a recent seven-year study that followed more than 500,000 children, the Danish Medical Research Council found no association between the MMR vaccine and autism spectrum disorders. The CDC and the National Institute of Health, in association with the government-affiliated Institute of Medicine, have also set up an Immunization Safety Review Committee for further investigations.
The committee consisted of independent experts in medicine who provided non-biased advice to vaccine policy-makers. In its eighth and final executive report, the committee concluded that "the body of epidemiological evidence favors rejection of a causal relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism."
The vast majority of children in the United States - approximately 95 percent, according to the CDC - do receive the MMR vaccination. Nevertheless, an increase in the number of parents seeking exemptions for non-religious reasons is alarming to public health experts.
Measles is an extremely contagious viral disease primarily spread through coughing and other respiratory routes. Before vaccination laws were passed, four million people each year contracted measles in the U.S. alone. Severe complications of the disease include pneumonia and encephalitis, a viral inflammation of the brain.
Adults who contract measles react more violently to these complications, which is why physicians believe it is imperative that children be vaccinated against this disease at a relatively early age.
