Measles epidemic on way unless MMR boycott ends, warn doctors
Doctors say hundreds of children could be hit by the disease, which can cause blindness, brain damage, and even death.
Dr Joan O'Donnell said: "Unless vaccine uptake improves, we will continue to have recurring outbreaks of what is a very serious disease."
Dr O'Donnell, a specialist in public health medicine at the National Disease Surveillance Centre, said Ireland had one of the highest rates of measles in Western Europe.
"We had a major outbreak in 2000 when there were three deaths. So far this year up there have been 565 cases of measles. This compares with 185 last year, a three fold increase."
Latest figures show that the current uptake of the vaccine in Ireland is only 77%. "This is a slight increase on last year, and while we welcome that, it is nowhere near the 95% needed to ensure that all children are protected."
Dr O'Donnell said that unless far more parents had their children vaccinated, Ireland could expect regular outbreaks of not only measles, but also mumps and rubella. She added that measles could cause meningitis, and frequently resulted in pneumonia.
"We compare quite badly internationally. In the whole of the United States there were only 37 cases of measles last year, with a population of 350 million. All children in the US have to get the vaccine before they go to school."
Her warning came amid growing controversy in Britain over the vaccine. Two scientists at the centre of the debate over whether MMR is linked to autism clashed in public. Both were involved in the 1998 research which raised public fears about a possible link between the triple jab and autism.
Yesterday one of the experts, Dr Simon Murch, insisted in a letter to the Lancet medical journal that the vaccine was safe.
Dr Murch, from the Royal Free Hospital, North London, wrote: "There is now unequivocal evidence that MMR is not a risk factor for autism this statement is not spin or medical conspiracy, but reflects an unprecedented volume of medical study on a worldwide basis."
He warned that measles epidemics would be "almost certain" this winter, if parents continued to boycott the vaccine.
Dr Murch immediately found himself under attack from his former Royal Free colleague Dr Andrew Wakefield, who led the 1998 study.
Reacting to Dr Murch's comments on BBC radio, Dr Wakefield suggested that Dr Murch had succumbed to establishment and peer pressure.
Dr O'Donnell insisted: "I agree with Simon Murch. The MMR is a safe and effective vaccine and the latest studies confirm that there is no proven link to autism."
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