The 1998 Australian Measles Control Campaign had as its aim improved immunization coverage among children aged 1–12 years and, in the longer term, prevention of measles epidemics. The campaign included mass school-based measles–mumps–rubella vaccination of children aged 5–12 years and a catch-up programme for preschool children. More than 1.33 million children aged 5–12 years were vaccinated at...

This report makes recommendations on the use of interventions to increase vaccine coverage levels. The reviews of evidence on which these recommendations are based are provided in the accompanying article (see Briss et al., page 97). The recommendations apply to vaccinations universally recommended for children, adolescents and adults, i.e., measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations for young chi...

BACKGROUND The safety of infant vaccination has been questioned in recent years. In particular it has been suggested that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination leads to brain damage manifesting as autism consequent to the development of an "enterocolitis" in the immediate post-vaccination period. AIM To assess if MMR vaccination is associated with subclinical intestinal inflammati...

The majority of those named as authors of the article did not have an opportunity to review and verify the data and to approve the manuscript. This unfortunate situation came to light when the article was published. In view of this irregularity in the submission process, we request that that paper be retracted. We believe that the alcohol-ablation technique described is a useful procedure in se...

It is possible to argue in favour of offering single vaccines even if you believe MMR to be safe, because you take the view that single vaccines are better than no vaccination at all, and/or that choice is a civil right. However, Sense believes that this is a dangerous argument. Offering single vaccines would undermine confidence in MMR, which could actually depress uptake, leading to the risk ...

We describe a mumps outbreak in a highly-vaccinated population attending a party at a youth club. In a retrospective cohort study with 60 of approximately 100 participants responding, vaccination status was verified for 58/59 respondents, of whom 54 were vaccinated twice and four once. The attack rate was 22% (13 cases, all vaccinated), with smoking at the party (risk ratio (RR) 3.1; 95% confid...

Since the late 1990s, the possible adverse effects of the combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine have caused intense public debate. After the vaccine was introduced in 1988, coverage was high, increasing from 80% in 1989 to 92% in 1997. After 1997 coverage began to decline, and by 2001 had fallen by 4.1%, which gave some cause for concern. We examined the extent to which these trend...

OBJECTIVE The possibility of adverse neurologic events has fueled much concern about the safety of measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccinations. The available evidence concerning several of the postulated complications is controversial. The aim of this study was to assess whether an association prevails between MMR vaccination and encephalitis, aseptic meningitis, and autism. METHODS A retrospect...

Comment There are three major problems in the endoscopic laser treatment of bleeding gastric cancer. Firstly, the tumour is often large, making coagulation of the entire surface impossible. Secondly, tumours may protrude into the lumen, making access to the distal surface of the lesion impossible. Finally, blood and clot in the stomach obscure the view. The possibility of using the laser at low...

We report the case of a child presenting with nonfebrile seizures 6 and 13 days after the first vaccination with a measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV) combination vaccine. Measles virus RNA was detected in the patient's serum, throat, and urine. Genotyping revealed the Schwarz vaccine virus strain.