[PROVE] Former Science Chief MMR Fears Coming True

[Guest guest]

[PROVE Note: We can only hope and pray that the actions and conscience of this

British Health Officer might rub off on some people at our FDA to come clean and

step up to plate to tell the truth too! The future of our children's generation

is depending on it!]

02/05/06 - Health section

Former science chief: 'MMR fears coming true'

By SUE CORRIGAN, Mail on Sunday

A former Government medical officer responsible for deciding whether medicines

are safe has accused the Government of " utterly inexplicable complacency " over

the MMR triple vaccine for children.

Dr Fletcher, who was Chief Scientific Officer at the Department of Health,

said if it is proven that the jab causes autism, " the refusal by governments to

evaluate the risks properly will make this one of the greatest scandals in

medical history " .

He added that after agreeing to be an expert witness on drug-safety trials for

parents' lawyers, he had received and studied thousands of documents relating to

the case which he believed the public had a right to see.

He said he has seen a " steady accumulation of evidence " from scientists

worldwide that the measles, mumps and rubella jab is causing brain damage in

certain children.

But he added: " There are very powerful people in positions of great authority in

Britain and elsewhere who have staked their reputations and careers on the

safety of MMR and they are willing to do almost anything to protect themselves. "

His warning follows reports that the Government is this week planning to

announce the addition of a jab against pneumococcal meningitis for babies,

probably from next April. It is also considering flu jabs for under-twos - not

to protect the children, but adults they may infect.

In the late Seventies, Dr Fletcher served as Chief Scientific Officer at the DoH

and Medical Assessor to the Committee on Safety of Medicines, meaning he was

responsible for deciding if new vaccines were safe.

He first expressed concerns about MMR in 2001, saying safety trials before the

vaccine's introduction in Britain were inadequate.

Now he says the theoretical fears he raised appear to be becoming reality.

He said the rising tide of autism cases and growing scientific understanding of

autism-related bowel disease have convinced him the MMR vaccine may be to blame.

" Clinical and scientific data is steadily accumulating that the live measles

virus in MMR can cause brain, gut and immune system damage in a subset of

vulnerable children, " he said. " There's no one conclusive piece of scientific

evidence, no 'smoking gun', because there very rarely is when adverse drug

reactions are first suspected. When vaccine damage in very young children is

involved, it is harder to prove the links.

" But it is the steady accumulation of evidence, from a number of respected

universities, teaching hospitals and laboratories around the world, that matters

here. There's far too much to ignore. Yet government health authorities are, it

seems, more than happy to do so. "

'Why isn't the Government taking this massive public health problem more

seriously?'

Dr Fletcher said he found " this official complacency utterly inexplicable " in

the light of an explosive worldwide increase in regressive autism and

inflammatory bowel disease in children, which was first linked to the live

measles virus in the MMR jab by clinical researcher Dr Wakefield in 1998.

" When scientists first raised fears of a possible link between mad cow disease

and an apparently new, variant form of CJD they had detected in just 20 or 30

patients, everybody panicked and millions of cows were slaughtered, " said Dr

Fletcher.

" Yet there has been a tenfold increase in autism and related forms of brain

damage over the past 15 years, roughly coinciding with MMR's introduction, and

an extremely worrying increase in childhood inflammatory bowel diseases and

immune disorders such as diabetes, and no one in authority will even admit it's

happening, let alone try to investigate the causes. "

He said there was " no way " the tenfold leap in autistic children could be the

result of better recognition and definitional changes, as claimed by health

authorities.

" It is highly likely that at least part of this increase is a vaccinerelated

problem. " he said. " But whatever it is, why isn't the Government taking this

massive public health problem more seriously? "

His outspokenness will infuriate health authorities, who have spent millions of

pounds shoring up confidence in MMR since Dr Wakefield's 1998 statement.

But Dr Fletcher said the Government is undermining public confidence in vaccine

safety by refusing to do in-depth clinical research to rule out fears of MMR

damage to children.

He added that the risks of brain and gut damage from MMR injections seem to be

much higher in children where a brother or sister has diabetes, an immune

disorder.

" That is a very strong clinical signal that some children are immunologically at

risk from MMR, " he said. " Why is the Government not investigating it further -

diverting some of the millions of pounds spent on advertising and PR campaigns

to promote MMR uptake into detailed clinical research instead? "

Now retired after a distinguished 40-year career in science and medicine in

Britain, Europe and the US, Dr Fletcher said that without such research, health

authorities could not possibly rule out fears about MMR.

He said: " It is entirely possible that the immune systems of a small minority

simply cannot cope with the challenge of the three live viruses in the MMR jab,

and the ever-increasing vaccine load in general. "

He said he had decided to speak out because of his deep concern at the lack of

treatment for autistic children with bowel disease, as revealed in The Mail on

Sunday two weeks ago.

He called the sudden termination of legal aid to parents of allegedly

vaccine-damaged children in late 2003 " a monstrous injustice " . After agreeing to

be a witness for the parents, he received thousands of documents relating to the

case.

" Now, it seems, unless the parents force the Government to restore legal aid,

much of this revealing evidence may never come out, " he said.

The Department of Health said: " MMR remains the best protection against measles,

mumps and rubella. It is recognised by the World Health Organisation as having

an outstanding safety record and there is a wealth of evidence showing children

who receive the MMR vaccine are no more at risk of autism than those who don't. "

Find this story at

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article\

_id=376203 & in_page_id=1774

©2006 Associated New Media

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Dawn

PROVE(Parents Requesting Open Vaccine Education)

prove@... (email)

http://vaccineinfo.net/ (web site)

-------------------------------------------------------------------

PROVE provides information on vaccines, and immunization policies and practices

that affect the children and adults of Texas. Our mission is to prevent vaccine

injury and death and to promote and protect the right of every person to make

informed independent vaccination decisions for themselves and their family.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This information is not to be construed as medical OR legal advice.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Subscribe to PROVE Email Updates:

http://vaccineinfo.net/subscribe.htm

Tell a Friend about PROVE:

http://vaccineinfo.net/subscribe/friends.shtml

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Removal from PROVE Email Updates:

Click here: http://vaccineinfo.net/unsubscribe.htm

You are currently subscribed as texas-autism-advocacyegroups

..

-------------------------------------------------------------------