Science is clear - vaccinate children, says research biologist Sir Gustav Nossal

THE anti-vaccination lobby is wrong, dead wrong. The truth is that vaccines are undoubtedly history's most cost-effective public health tool.

THE anti-vaccination lobby is wrong, dead wrong. The truth is that vaccines are undoubtedly history's most cost-effective public health tool.

As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure and vaccination proves that in spades. In industrialised countries we have virtually vanquished most epidemic diseases and this is largely due to vaccines.

What is particularly ironic is that resistance to childhood vaccination is largely a phenomenon of developed nations. Those who lobby against it are able to do so because of the very success of vaccination.

Because we don't have diphtheria epidemics, because whooping cough epidemics are rare, because we don't see tetanus and smallpox any more, Australians don't have first-hand experience of how devastating such diseases can be. This means the alleged side effects of vaccines may seem more frightening than the diseases they prevent.

It is true that side effects do exist but they are generally trivial.

It is also true that serious side effects happen but they are rare, occurring in only about one in one million vaccinations.As recently as the 1980s, Australia had regular epidemics of measles, during which many children died from associated illnesses such as encephalitis and pneumonia. Measles also can cause lifelong disability, including deafness, blindness and mental disability.

When vaccinations against measles, whooping cough, polio, tetanus and diphtheria were introduced in Australia, the incidence of the diseases dropped to, in many cases, virtually zero.

The anti-vaccination lobby played a major role in the outbreak of measles, mumps and rubella in the UK.

Before then, the efforts of a brilliant public health expert called David Salisbury, who effectively publicised the importance of immunising children with the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, Britain was on the very threshold of eradicating measles from the UK.

Then along came one researcher with a totally fallacious claim that the vaccine causes autism.

It took nine independent studies over several years to dispel public doubt and counter the baseless but fearful assertions being peddled as a result of this single, fraudulent paper by the anti-vaccination lobby.

It turns out the incidence of autism in people who have had the MMR vaccine is identical to that of people who have not had it.

But the anti-vaccination lobby startled parents so much the vaccination rate, which was up to 93 per cent, plummeted to 60-70 per cent in different parts of the UK.

What was the end result? Outbreaks of all three diseases which are not yet under control. This is a tragedy triggered by ignorance.

To help parents understand the importance of getting their kids vaccinated, the Australian Academy of Science has prepared a booklet - The Science of Immunisation: Questions and Answers - which explains the basics of vaccination.

My advice for parents is pick up the booklet, talk to your doctor and follow the Australian guidelines for infant vaccinations.

Remember that the disease is far, far worse than vaccine side effects.

Sir Gustav Nossal is an Australian research biologist specialising in immunology and was the 2000 Australian of the Year.