MMR VACCINE ALL-CLEAR

Scientists have ruled out a link between the controversial MMR jab and autism in children.

A study of 5,000 children in the UK backs up claims by the Department of Health that there is no evidence that the combined jab can lead to development of autism.

Concern about a reported link between the triple vaccine and the disorder has led to a dramatic drop in the number of parents getting their children vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella.

That was prompted by a small and now largely discredited study by Dr Andrew Wakefield in 1998 that was published in The Lancet.

The new research was carried out by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and funded by the British Medical Council.

Dr Liam Smeeth, who led the research, said he hoped their findings would help boost public confidence in the vaccination.

"We hope the results of this study, the most robust and comprehensive undertaken to date, will reassure parents that MMR is not associated with an increased risk of developing autism.

"Our findings are consistent with evidence from a growing body of high quality scientific studies.

"It is now time to move on and focus on research into other potential causes of autism which is urgently needed."

The vaccination rate is currently too low to avoid an epidemics of measles - a potentially life-threatening infection.

Outbreaks of measles have already been seen in areas of the UK with very low uptake of the vaccine.

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