Measles vaccines must increase, warns GP

SERIOUS measles outbreaks – that put hundreds of children’s lives at risk – will happen every three or four years unless MMR vaccine uptakes increase dramatically, a leading specialist warned yesterday.

Temple Street Hospital paediatrician Professor Denis Gill told the Irish Medical News that Irish immunisation rates are much worse than those in poverty stricken countries such as Romania, Albania and Libya.

Cuba has a 99% uptake and Chile and the Philippines a 97% uptake, but in Ireland the rate is as low as 73%. "Our immunisation programme is a national embarrassment. An investment of 5m to 10m the equivalent of 1km of roadway would greatly enhance uptakes levels.

"While there has been a lot of negative press about MMR (possible links to autism), in my opinion quite a degree of poor vaccine uptake is based on indifference, ignorance and apathy, not the fear of the side effects of vaccinations," Professor Gill said.

The 2003 UNICEF State of the World's Children Report places Ireland's MMR vaccine uptake below scores of third world and poor countries, according to the paediatrician.

"Doctors will remember we had 2,000 preventable cases of measles in the millennium year. In Temple Street Children's hospital, we saw 300 cases, of which 10 were admitted to intensive care, and 3 died.

"It is an experience the hospital would not like to see repeated for the sake of the children, many of whom were very sick from what, in most countries, is

an illness that has ceased," Professor Gill added.

Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) spokesman Brendan O'Shea said parents are doing a grave disservice to their children by casually refusing to have them vaccinated.

"There is a huge amount of scientific evidence that the MMR protects children against measles. If anyone is in doubt they should at least discuss the issue with their GP," he urged.

The MMR vaccine is provided free by GPs. Miicheál Martin has made an extra €2.1m available in 2003 to fund measures which will improve immunisation uptake, especially in areas where it is low.

Health boards have been requested to submit proposed projects/measures to the National Immunisation Implementation Group. The proposals are currently under consideration.