Recently released figures show that there were 971 cases in England and Wales in 2007, up on the 740 recorded in 2006 and the highest level since records began in 1995.
This comes mostly as a a result of a drop in the uptake of the MMR vaccine. The number of MMR vaccinations first fell in the late 1990s and though theories linking MMR to autism have since been disproved, the number of children receiving the jab is still below the recommended level.
Dr Mary Ramsay, a consultant epidemiologist at the HPA, which released the figures, said "This increase in measles cases is of concern." She said that large numbers of children are still not fully protected so we expect to see more large outbreaks of measles in the future.
Measles can be fatal as proved by the death of a 13-year-old boy from measles in 2005.
Most of the major serious news providers covered the story. None of the reports that I found were negative about the MMR jab though most simply printed the negative facts and figures about measles cases allowing the facts to speak for themselves.
Many like the Guardian and Channel four news reported doctors advice prominantly, suggesting that these opinions are to be trusted. They seemed to use the doctors opinions in order to support there own positive slant on the MMR vaccine.
The BBC reported A spokeswoman for the Department of Health. This person said "MMR uptake has increased in recent years", but "We want to see more children protected against these potentially serious diseases."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment