It was 1992 when the floodgates of immunisation conspiracy theories opened.

Gastroentologist Andrew Wakefield had suggested that the MMR vaccine was linked to autism in children. The detriment caused by that since-discredited claim remains more prevalent than ever before.

Many parents continue to lend credence to the flawed link, refusing to vaccinate their children for fear of causing them to be autistic.

The MMR shot protects children from measles, mumps and rubella. It acts as a barrier that halts the igniting of epidemics.

“Diseases are rare because children are immunised. If the vaccines are not given, the diseases would spread like wildfire,” said local GP Mario Rizzo Naudi.

Dr Rizzo Naudi warned that Malta faced a huge problem because many foreigners coming to live and work in Malta had no vaccination records. This meant there was no way of knowing whether they are immunised against diseases the MMR vaccine prevents he said.

Read: Complacency and anti-vaxxers are hurting measles eradication - UN

Nothing in the scientific literature, he continued, backs the discredited claims linking the MMR vaccine and autism.

The Wakefield claims, he said, were especially dangerous because of the potential societal repercussions, he said.

“Without prevention from MMR, we could also see a spike in meningitis. The only way you can prevent rubella, measles and mumps from developing in children is by putting them in a bubble,” he said tongue in cheek.

Autism, he said, is developed from unknown sources, and studies that linked the MMR shot with autism have been put to rest by numerous scientific counter studies.

What of parents who refuse to vaccinate their children?

A mother who has refused to give the jab to her three-year-old child stuck to her beliefs.

“I heard numerous rumours about the alleged side-effects the MMR jab could have on children and was scared of the consequences,” she said

She used the internet to defend her view.

“You can find numerous articles against this inoculation on the internet,” she said. “I would rather put my mind at ease by not immunizing my child.”

Dr Rizzo Naudi is used to patients taking internet claims as fact.

“They come to my clinic and sometimes quote the internet,” he said However, in medicine it is important to examine the symptoms. If the internet were a tool for all, we wouldn’t need doctors and pharmacists. Google isn’t medical school and isn’t reliable when it comes to medicinally sensitive issues.”

Ryan Vella is a communications student at the University of Malta. 

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