Horizon: Does the MMR Jab Cause Autism?: We cannot win

doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7508.111-a

BMJ 2005;331:111 (9 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7508.111-a

Letter

Horizon: Does the MMR Jab Cause Autism?

We cannot win

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—For measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and autism,epidemiology is dismissed.¹ For power lines and cancer, epidemiologyis king.^2
3 As MacAuley wrote, many parents might have foundsuch [anecdotal] arguments seductive.

This is the problem. Personal experience speaks loudly. It isdifficult to deny the evidence of one's own eyes. The "MMR dissenters"start from the proved fact that MMR causes autism (because they'veseen it); the "electromagnetic fields cancer advocates" knowpower lines cause cancer (because they've seen it). All laterevidence is interpreted on the basis of that experience. Therapid responses to the articles in the issue of 4 June willbe witness.

As Watts writes in favour of perspective: "In 2002, accordingto the Child Accident Prevention Trust, more than 36 000 childrenwere hurt in road accidents and around 200 were killed... fivecases annually of childhood leukaemia may be associated withpower . . . [Full text of this article]

Neville W Goodman, consultant anaesthetist

Southmead Hospital, Bristol BS10 5NB Nev.W.Goodman@bris.ac.uk

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