Vaccine-autism link doctor faces misconduct inquiry
Monday June 12 2006
Andrew Wakefield, who published a paper in 1998 purporting to show a link between MMR vaccine and autism, is accused of publishing "inadequately founded" research, failing to obtain ethical committee approval, obtaining cash "improperly" and subjecting children to "unnecessary investigations".
The research, which ran in 'The Lancet', is said to have done more damage than anything published in a scientific journal in memory. It caused alarm about MMR vaccine, immunisation rates slumped and cases of measles, mumps and rubella soared.
The GMC will present charges in autumn and a public hearing is expected next year. Dr Wakefield, (50), could be struck off the medical register if found guilty. Unusually, the GMC has brought the case itself in the public interest. There is no complainant.
The investigation has taken two years and lawyers for Dr Wakefield complain he and his family are suffering distress caused by the delay in bringing charges.
The research was carried out at the Royal Free Hospital, north London by Dr Wakefield and 12 other doctors and published in 'The Lancet' in February 1998.
The warning about MMR was amplified by Dr Wakefield at a press conference - to the disquiet of his colleagues - and the subsequent scare led tens of thousands of parents to boycott the vaccine. Immunisation rates fell over the next five years from well over 90pc nationally to a low of 78.9pc in early 2003.
There was a resurgence in cases of measles, mumps and rubella (German measles), according to the Health Protection Agency.
The number of cases of mumps soared from 4,204 cases in 2003 to 16,436 in 2004 and to 56,390 cases last year. Since 2003, the MMR vaccination rate has increased slightly and in mid-2005 stood at 83pc. In 2004 it emerged that at the time he was preparing his paper for 'The Lancet', Dr Wakefield was being paid by lawyers for parents of children allegedly damaged by the vaccine to look for evidence that could be used to help sue the manufacturers of the vaccine.
He received stg£55,000 (€80,000) from the Legal Aid Board which was paid into his research fund, but which he did not disclose to his co-researchers. He was accused by 'The Lancet' of failing to declare a conflict of interest that could have influenced his findings. Editor Richard Horton said if he had known in 1998 about the conflict of interest he would never have published the paper, and he partially withdrew it in 2004. John Reid, Health Secretary at the time, called on the GMC to hold an inquiry.
Dr Wakefield, a consultant gastroenterologist, left the Royal Free hospital in 2001 "by mutual agreement". He has since worked mainly in America where he has business interests and continues to research autistic children.
His claims about the link between MMR and autism have been repudiated by a series of scientific studies. (© Independent News)
- Jeremy Laurance
