Autism

PRESS RELEASE

Unknown Cause: Known Treatment

Immunizations not the cause of Autism, shown in the conclusive study carried out by the Center for Disease Control.

With rates of Autism on the rise questions about the cause of the disease has been swirling. One cause, lurking in the back of worried mothers minds, is about whether there is a relationship between autism and the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and other vaccines. Several studies, done by several Federal agencies have looked at whether there is a relationship between vaccines and autism. The bulk of the evidence indicates that vaccines are not associated with autism.

Within a few years the rates have gone from 1 in 1500, to 1 in 150 children. Long ago, in 2000, Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to organize an expert committee--Immunization Safety Review Committee--to review and report evidence about whether vaccines cause certain health problems.

The committee studied evidence about the theory that MMR vaccine causes autism and the theory that vaccines with the preservative thimerosal cause neurodevelopment disorders, including autism.

The conclusions from the committee were that neither thimerosal-containing vaccines or MMR vaccine are associated with autism. The hypothesis, regarding the link between autism and vaccines, lacks supporting evidence and was only theoretical.

The committee’s conclusion has remained consistent that MMR vaccine is not associated with autism. Though the report that thimerosal-containing vaccines are not associated with autism differed from their conclusion, it determined that there was not enough evidence to determine whether thimerosal was associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism. Explaining that there were no published epidemiological studies examining the potential association. Still the committee states “consistently provided evidence of no association."

Future efforts to find the cause of autism will be directed toward other lines of inquiry that are supported by current knowledge and evidence and offer more promise for providing an answer.

The CDC knows that some parents and others may still have concerns about this issue. CDC is committed to protecting the health of children and to identifying the biological and environmental causes of autism and other developmental disabilities, so we will continue to study the role of vaccines.

For more information on Autism visit the CDC website. http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/ or http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/faq_vaccines.htm

About CDC:

The CDC seeks to give people timely and accurate information about public health and Autism. They respond to requests for information from state and local agencies, health professionals, universities, and the general public.

# # #