In the early 2000's, media reports led to widespread public concern over the safety of the MMR vaccine. Parents were understandably worried, but with the number of children catching measles on the rise, it's crucial to make an informed choice.
Here are five key facts on MMR that every parent and carer should know:
Measles, mumps and rubella are serious diseases
Measles, mumps and rubella are not rare – and are far from harmless. Measles is very infectious, spreading over a wide area through the air and by close contact. Mumps and rubella spread in the same way and are as infectious as flu.
Measles causes high fever and a rash, and children will be off school for around ten days. Complications occur in one in every 15 cases and you can't tell if a child will be seriously affected until they have the disease. Complications include chest infections, seizures, encephalitis (swelling of the brain), and brain damage. Measles can be fatal.
Mumps causes fever, headaches and swollen glands in the face, neck and jaw. It can result in permanent deafness, viral meningitis and encephalitis. Rarely, it causes painful swelling of the testicles in boys and ovaries in girls.
Rubella (German measles) can go unnoticed in children but damages the sight, hearing, heart and brain of unborn babies. Infection in the first three months of pregnancy (congenital rubella syndrome) harms unborn babies in nine out of 10 cases.
The MMR vaccine protects your children against these diseases
MMR is the combined vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella. It is injected into a child's thigh or upper arm at around 13 months.
It is given again between three and five. Children who do not respond to the first dose are protected by the second, which is why its important to have both doses.
Very few children have a contraindication (a condition that makes a treatment inadvisable) to having the MMR vaccine and catching measles, mumps or rubella is never better than having the vaccine.
Without the MMR vaccine new epidemics may occur
In 1987, the year before the MMR vaccine was introduced, 86,000 children caught measles and 16 died in the UK.
Without protection, new measles epidemics may occur. As it is so infectious, your child will most likely catch measles if he or she is not immunised.
In the five years before the MMR vaccine was introduced, over 40 babies a year were born in the UK with congenital rubella syndrome. Many pregnant women who contracted rubella caught it from their own children.
Deafness caused by mumps could also return if children are not vaccinated.
The MMR vaccine has an outstanding safety record
The MMR vaccine was thoroughly tested before being introduced to the UK in 1988. In 2001, The World Health Organisation said that MMR is a highly effective vaccine with an outstanding safety record.
Over 500 million doses of MMR have been used in over 100 countries since the early 1970s.
Other countries do not give MMR as three separate vaccines as it does not reduce side effects. Single vaccines actually put families at increased risk as children could catch the diseases whilst waiting for full immunisation cover. Plus, the single vaccines are not licensed in the UK, so have not been through the stringent safety tests.
No evidence suggests a link between MMR and autism
Autism is a developmental disorder usually appearing in the second year of life. As the MMR vaccine is given when children are aged between one and two years, parents and carers whose children show signs of autism after the jab may link the two.
Numerous studies have been conducted and there is no evidence to support a link between MMR and autism.
To find out more about the MMR vaccine visit immunisation.nhs.uk/Vaccines/MMR or ask your health visitor or GP for more information. They should be able to answer any questions you have and provide up-to-date information about the vaccine.