|
A new study showed that measles
virus is present in children with a new form of bowel disease and the
defect is linked to the
triple measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination.
The authors include Andrew
Wakefield, whose work at London's Royal Free Hospital in 1998 first raised
fears that MMR vaccination may trigger bowel disorders and autism in susceptible
children.
The study was set up to investigate
the presence of persistent measles virus in children with ileocolonic
lymphonodular hyperplasis, a new form of inflammatory bowel disease that
has been described in a cohort of children with developmental disorder.
Results showed that 75
of 91 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of ileocolonic lymphonodular
hyperplasis and enterocolitis were positive for measles virus in their
intestinal tissue compared with five of 70 control patients.
The data confirm an association
between the presence of measles virus and gut pathology in children with
developmental disorder. The authors conclude that the virus may act as
an immunological trigger.
Molecular
Pathology April 2002
| 