Website is ordered to stop linking MMR jabs with autism

Babyjabs.co.uk said the vaccine “could be causing autism in up to 10 per cent of autistic children in the UK”. It also said: “Most experts now agree that the large rise [in autism] has been caused partly by increased diagnosis, but also by a real increase in the number of children with autism.”

A further claim said the vaccine-strain measles virus has been found in the gut and brain of some autistic children, which supports many parents’ belief that the MMR vaccine caused autism in their children.

One person complained that the claims were misleading and unsubstantiated.

Defending the claims, Babyjabs referred to one study in particular from 2002, which it considered to be one of the strongest pieces of evidence that the MMR vaccine does not cause autism but which it claimed includes the lead author’s conclusion: “We cannot rule out the existence of a susceptible subgroup with an increased risk of autism if vaccinated.”

It also said The Truth About Vaccines, a book written by Babyjab medical director Dr Richard Halvorsen, stated: “If one in 800 MMR vaccinations triggered an autistic disorder, this would result in around 1,200 children a year in the UK being made  autistic by the bundling of the vaccines. This is probably the worst case scenario.”

Dr Halvorsen added that  “research, including large population studies, has since shown that the MMR is not causing the large majority of autism, but has been unable to exclude the  possibility that it is causing  autism in a small number of  susceptible children”.

Upholding the complaint, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) noted that the website makes clear the original allegations of a link between the MMR vaccine and autism by a doctor, Andrew Wakefield, was “strongly rejected” by government and the medical establishment”.

But it said consumers are likely to infer from the claims that the vaccine might have played a role in the “increase” in the number of children with autism.

The ASA said: “The evidence provided included studies and an article which looked at the increased prevalence of autism, but did not include  evidence that any increase was due to the MMR vaccine.”