There is no credible evidence behind the claims of harm from the MMR (Measles Mumps and Rubella) vaccination according to health experts.
The Cochrane Review researchers came to this conclusion after drawing together evidence found in 31 high quality studies from around the world.
"In particular we conclude that all the major unintended events, such as triggering Crohn's disease or autism, were suspected on the basis of unreliable evidence," says lead author Dr Vittorio Demicheli.
"Public health decisions need to be based on sound evidence, if this principle had been applied in the case of the MMR dispute, then we would have avoided all the fuss," says Dr Demicheli.
The authors of the review blamed the vaccine scare on a research paper published in 1998.
"A single research paper published in 1998 based on 12 children cast doubt on the safety of the vaccine by implying that it might cause development problems like Crohn's disease and autism."
"The paper has since been retracted by most of the original authors, but before that it triggered a worldwide scare, which in turn resulted in reduced uptake of the vaccine," the review said.
During the course of their research the authors searched international databases and found 139 articles about MMR use, however, because many of them referred to studies that had been conducted in a way that could not rule out bias or error, the researchers discarded all but 31 of them.
The authors also say that the policy of encouraging mass use of MMR has eliminated the scourge of measles, mumps and rubella from many countries. Adding that the lack of confidence in MMR has caused great damage to public health.
"People arguing for or against the use of any therapy need to make sure that they base their conclusions on carefully collected evidence, not just on biased opinion, speculation or suspicion," the review concluded.
