The controversial doctor whose research led to the MMR safety scare has been accused of manipulating his research data. According to an investigation by the Sunday Times, Andrew Wakefield “changed and misreported results” in a Lancet paper which has been used as support by those who believe the now conclusively debunked claim that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine causes autism.
In most of the 12 cases [in the paper], the children’s ailments as described in The Lancet were different from their hospital and GP records. Although the research paper claimed that problems came on within days of the jab, in only one case did medical records suggest this was true, and in many of the cases medical concerns had been raised before the children were vaccinated. Hospital pathologists, looking for inflammatory bowel disease, reported in the majority of cases that the gut was normal. This was then reviewed and the Lancet paper showed them as abnormal.
Wakefield is currently being investigated by the UK’s regulatory body for doctors, the General Medical Council.
“You also know that, at this juncture in the GMC process, it would be inappropriate for Dr Wakefield to give a detailed response to you,” his lawyers told the Times. “He has denied the allegations and gave a detailed response over many days to the GMC panel.”
However, a response – apparently from Wakefield – has been posted on anti-MMR websites.
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I have recently seen a case of measles. The last time I saw a case of measles was over twenty years ago when I was doing hospital paediatrics. The child I saw recently was ill. He did not need admission and, thank God, has fully recovered. The next child might not be so lucky.
– Dr John Crippen on the NHS Blog Doctor blog
A fundamental misunderstanding of science has never been at the core of the anti-vaccine movement; lies, self-promotion, and demagoguery are the true heart of this destructive social movement.
– PalMD on the White Coat Underground blog
If even a fraction of the accusations levelled by The Times are true, Wakefield engaged in absolutely outrageous academic misconduct, if not outright fraud. In order for any of the accusations to not be accurate, The Times would have to be lying about the contents of medical records.
– Mike Dunford on the Questionable Authority blog
This may cause a firestorm in the antivax community, but there are two things I will guarantee: the first is that in the end antivaxxers will stick to their beliefs that vaccines cause health problems like autism, because this is not and never has been, for them, about the facts and evidence. It’s a belief system, and like most other belief systems, it is impenetrable to evidence.
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Second, and somewhat related, this hardly matters. Many, many independent tests have shown that vaccines are unrelated to the onset of autism.
Anti-MMR websites have also leapt to Wakefield’s defence, eg: Sunday Times – Sinks To New Low With Yet More MMR Junk Journalism.