Soaring cases of mumps linked to vaccine myths

A RECENT surge in the number of mumps cases in Ireland is due to myths about the MMR vaccine being popularised in the 1990s.

There has been over 400 cases of mumps since the start of this year alone, according to recently released State statistics

And those most at risk were born in the late 1990s and early 2000s when a medical specialist wrongly claimed there was a link between the mumps vaccine and autism.

Figures released by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) show that to date in 2019 there has been 408 cases of mumps compared to the 60 cases reported in the same time last year. Over the course of 2018, there was a total of 576 cases of mumps across the country. In 2019, the HPSC has confirmed that 10 mumps outbreaks have been reported in Ireland.

Speaking yesterday on RTÉ’s News at One, specialist in public health medicine with the HSE Dr Mary Ward said that there has been 18 hospitalisations for mumps during this recent outbreak. Dr Ward said that those in the age range most affected during this mumps outbreak would have been born between 1998 and 2004 where the MMR vaccination rate fell to the low 70s. In the second quarter of 2018, the most recent statistics available, the vaccination rate among children aged between one and two was at 92%. Dr Ward said that it needs to get over 95%.

Dr Andrew Wakefield, a discredited former British doctor, sparked a public health panic in those years when he wrongly claimed that the MMR vaccine caused autism. He was later removed from the profession.

‘While we don’t see fatalities associated with mumps it is serious and it can lead to complications and interfere with your life. In this outbreak so far we have seen 18 hospitalisations with mumps,’ said Dr Ward.

‘We are seeing an increase in mumps cases this year. People are getting mumps because they haven’t been vaccinated with the MMR. The majority of the cases are in the 15–24 year-old age group which is our secondary school students and college students.

‘[Mumps] is a potentially serious illness but even in those who are not seriously affected it can have a big impact on their lives.

‘It is very important, if you are ill, if you have mumps not to go school not to go to college until you have recovered.’ said Dr Ward.

Mumps is an acute viral infection spread from person to person. There is no specific treatment but it can be prevented with the MMR vaccination. Two doses of the vaccination are given to prevent the disease, usually at one year and at around four to five years.

WITH figures for outbreaks of mumps showing a six-fold increase on the same period last year, this is clearly indicative of a cohort of people who, in the past, were not protected by the MMR vaccine.

Whether it is the MMR or, indeed, the HPV jab, this shows just how dangerous the anti-vaccine movement is.

There can, of course, be problems with certain vaccines on occasion, but that must be set against the very rigorous global system that is in place, a system that ensures the vast majority of vaccines are demonstrably safe and, indeed, essential.