The British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, strongly attacked "scaremongering" over the MMR vaccine yesterday as at least eight new cases of measles were confirmed in south London, writes Frank Millar, London Editor
The risk of an epidemic in the capital remained high as the number of confirmed or suspected cases reached 29 in the area covered by the Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham Health Authority, where take-up rates for vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella have fallen as low as 65 per cent.
The Department of Health says a vaccination rate of 95 per cent is necessary to prevent cases of measles, while figures from the Public Health Laboratory Service show the UK-wide take-up dropped to 84.2 per cent between July and September last year, reflecting mounting anxiety over controversial research suggesting a possible link between the MMR jab and autism and bowel disease.
Downing Street denied reports that Mr Blair was set to order a review of the costs of offering single vaccinations as an alternative to the triple jab, while the Health Minister, Ms Yvette Cooper, insisted costs were never a factor for the government, which continued to act on the basis of expert medical opinion.
In the Commons the Prime Minister insisted that advice was that the MMR vaccine was safe and best used in combination rather than in separate jabs.
Medical experts have warned that parents choosing the single vaccines risk exposing their children to disease while they await completion of the treatment programme.
The Conservatives were accused of "playing politics with public health" after their spokesman, Dr Liam Fox, said the "crisis in public confidence in the MMR vaccine" had seen take-up fall to perilous levels and that concerned parents should be offered single jabs as an alternative.
Dr Bashir Qureshi of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health said that while a majority of mothers were happy to have MMR with reassurance from doctors, the minority who were worried should not be ignored.
"They would be happy to have measles alone, they would be happy to have rubella alone, and where necessary mumps alone, but they are not happy to have all three together.
"And I think in a democracy like ours we should be proud of giving people choice," he said.
Doctors have warned that parents choosing the single vaccines risk exposing their children to disease while they wait for the programme to be completed.
The first shot, given between 12 and 15 months, is supposed to give 92 per cent protection against measles - the booster before the age of five gives another 7 per cent of protection.
The UK Department of Health has said there is no credible scientific evidence linking MMR with the development of autism and bowel disorders, notwithstanding the research by the Coombe Women's Hospital team.