When it comes to child rearing, vaccinations are as routine as changing nappies and sleep deprivation. Or so you'd think.
But as many as 25 percent of parents worry that the vaccines often mandated for their children to prevent diseases like measles, mumps and polio may be to blame for other unintended diseases, according to the Institute of Medicine.
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Unfairly blamed
Some parents have contended that the shots can cause everything from autism, hepatitis B and diabetes to neurological disorders and an impaired immune system.
That's just not true, health professionals say.
"Basically, there is no data to say there is an association between the vaccines and these diseases," says Dr Margaret Rennels, a paediatrician who serves on the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices.
She cites an ongoing, three-year study of all research involving vaccinations and any associations with other diseases, which is being done by the institute, part of the National Academy of Sciences, an independent organisation created by the US government to advise on scientific and technical matters.
So far, three reports have found vaccinations were not linked to: autism; neurodevelopmental disorders, like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and delayed speech; juvenile diabetes, pneumonia or meningitis. A fourth report, examining any relationship between vaccines and hepatitis B and multiple sclerosis and other neurological diseases, is expected by early June.
Vaccination necessary
The bottom line of the research is that it supports vaccination programmes.
"The committees, at the end of each of these reports, have said they don't recommend a policy review of the current schedule of vaccine use," says Dr Marie McCormick, chairman of the institute's immunisation safety committee, and a professor at Harvard University's School of Public Health.
However, the institute, citing a lack of data, does recommend further research into possible ties between vaccines and asthma, and whether certain people are genetically predisposed to respond poorly to certain shots.
Vaccination in South Africa
The South African government follows a schedule of immunisation recommended by the World Health Organisation and spends an average of R80-million per year on vaccines alone. This includes immunisation against all nine of the serious childhood illnesses including: tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, poliomyelitis, measles, haemophilus influenza type B (bHib) and hepatitis B.
The vaccines work by introducing into the body a weakened form of a bacteria or virus, like measles, so the immune system produces germ-fighting antibodies. These antibodies are then able to fend off any real virus or bacteria that might infect a child.
Why parents can get confused
Some of the confusion about the effects of vaccinations may have to do with timing. Autism, for instance, is often diagnosed when children start to talk, at about one and a half years, which is the same time they are getting a number of vaccinations.
It's understandable that a parent looking for causes of the condition might blame the vaccines.
But health professionals are concerned that parents worried about the perceived risks of vaccines might keep their children from being vaccinated against potentially fatal diseases.
If immunisation levels are not maintained, the diseases will come back – which can have potentially disastrous consequences.
Dr Anne Moscona, a paediatrics professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, adds: "Parents are concerned about autism, about neurological damage and the worry that their children will get more allergies if they are vaccinated. So we try to explain to them that the benefits of vaccinations far, far outweigh theoretical risks of harm from the vaccines."
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