Dispatches
MMR documentary triggers mail to this website -
both for and against
This page is
research from an investigation by Brian Deer for the UK's Channel 4 Television
and The Sunday Times of London into a campaign
linking the MMR children's
vaccine with autism. | Go to part I:
The Lancet scandal | Go to part II:
The Wakefield factor
Following Brian
Deer's Channel 4 Dispatches investigative
documentary on November 18 2004, visitors to this
website had their say
MMR:
18 November 2004
Brian,
Congratulations!
What a great
programme. I can remember hearing dr Wakefield at
the press conference and thinking, "Where
does that come from?, What is going on
here?" And now I know.
Well Done
You have
possibly saved more lives tonight than I will
save in a lifetime.
James
C.
MMR:
18 November 2004
Congratulations
on a brilliant and devastating Dispatches
programme.
Prof.
John A.
MMR:
18 November 2004
Congratulations
- great programme - I had long wondered why a
doctor (Wakefield) could be so adamant that the
combined MMR vaccine was the cause of autism, on
the basis of no real evidence. It didn't make
sense.
I'm just
amazed that he went unchallenged for so long. And
that Chadwick didn't say anything.
And, of
course, the real victims are the children and
their families - both those left with the feeling
that they were responsible for their child's
autism, and those that run the risk of measles,
mumps and rubella - either
now or in
the future - as a consequence.
Vaccination
may be an imperfect science, but at least it's
based on science rather than colostrum.
Harriet
G.
MMR:
18 November 2004
Mr Deer,
I write as a
father of two girls (4yrs and 2.5 yrs) who have
both, thankfully, received the MMR jabs on time
etc.
I found your
Channel 4 Dispatches programme extremely
interesting and challenging, spending much time
relaying information to my wife regarding some of
the more outrageous activities of Dr Wakefield.
For those who watched Dispatches the majority
will, I believe, recognise this sorry debacle to
be made up of a self serving individual and a
popular media all too ready to sensationalise the
latest health scares.
Do you think
the Daily Mail et al will be running front page
stories pointing out just how flawed this entire
debacle has been? I will be quite disappointed if
this does not warrant some attention in
tomorrow's media.
As a final
note - a quick trawl through the internet brings
up some truly awful sites purporting to give and
informed viewpoint re MMR/Autism. Quite a number
appear to be American!
Many thanks
for your programme which has helped me greatly in
laying to rest some minor demons. I am not a
person to respond in this way as a general rule.
Your programme, however, touched issues very
close to me - my childrens health &
wellbeing.
David
B.
MMR:
18 November 2004
Dear Mr
Deer,
I have
already forwarded my thoughts regarding tonights
programme on the Channel 4 viewer enquiry page.
A website
that is all in favour for Dr Wakefield is:
www.mmrthequestions.com
Mrs
S H.
MMR:
19 November 2004
Dear Mr.
Deer,
I just
watched your Dispatches programme about MMR. I
have never witnessed such one-sided, biased and
badly and maliciously edited pile of crap in my
life. MMR (and other vaccines) do cause autism.
You know it and we all know it. Who's paying you
for this campaign against Dr. Wakefield? I can
probably guess. You're fooling no-one and are a
complete disgrace to your profession.
Michael
MMR:
19 November 2004
Dear Mr Deer
From a
doctor who has seen children die of measles, and
fears that he will again, and who is sometimes
brought near to tears of frustration by scared
parents;
Thank you!
Richard
MMR:
19 November 2004
Dear Brian
working as
an Immunisation Facilitator and Health Visitor
for 28 years it was so refreshing and uplifting
to hear the real story behind the MMR scare. I
have lobbyed parents and professionals alike in
the safety and effectiveness of this vaccine and
to hear that someones economic greed was
essentially behind it, is totally gut wrenching
considering the parents of any autistic child who
want a reason for their child's disability.
Why oh Why
is this not being shouted from the rooftops on
todays television/news bulletins as it would have
been if the story had been a negative one???
Jayne
W.
MMR:
19 November 2004
Brian
I watched
Dispatches last night and just wanted to
congratulate you on the work you have done in
exposing Andrew Wakefield.
I am
fortunate in that my children were immunised long
before the scare broke but I have a number of
friends who were very apprehensive about possible
effects on their children, and really felt there
was compelling and conflicting advice on both
sides.
I was amazed
in February when the details of his being funded
by lawyers came out, but watching your programme
last night I was absolutely astounded and frankly
disgusted that this whole issue had been
fabricated to further his own commercial
ambitions.
You have
done a great service to parents all over the
world, and I only hope that your side of the
story receives as much publicity as the scare
did. However, I suspect that this will not be the
case.
Keep up the
good work
Terry
M.
MMR:
19 November 2004
Hello,
I tuned into
Dispatches last night hoping for a balanced and
informative program.
Instead, I
was appalled to witness a prolonged and vicious
attack on Dr Andrew Wakefield, by a clearly
bitter, troubled and pathetic little man.
Mr Deer's
research findings were deeply inaccurate, and he
made several important omissions.
No
vaccination has ever been proposed or developed
by Dr Wakefield or his colleagues at the Royal
Free Hospital.
There were
hopes to develop and trial a compound called
transfer factor, as a potential therapy for the
children with regressive autism and bowel
disease.
Mr Deer was
correct in stating that at one stage it was not
possible to detect measles virus in the tissue
samples taken from the children. This was because
the methods initially utilised were not sensitive
enough. I am surprised that such an enthusiastic
researcher did not reveal that subsequent
methodology has positively identified vaccine
strain measles virus in the bowel tissue, blood
and cerebral spinal fluid of affected children.
This program
will have done nothing to clarify the confusion
surrounding the MMR issue. It will have caused
deep distress to Dr Wakefield and his family,
friends and colleagues, not to mention the
thousands of families in the UK that have
children adversely affected by the MMR vaccine.
I would like
to suggest that if Mr Deer has any further
personal vendettas to air, that he should do so
privately, not publically, on air, at the tax
payers expense.
Julie
Loch
[Reply: Julie Loch was a
litigant in a lawsuit against MMR manufacturers.
The Andrew Wakefield vaccine
patent application is posted at this
site. ]
MMR:
19 November 2004
Fantastic
doc on MMR
Thanks for
clearing that up and reducing my anxiety of
getting my child injected.
Neil
C.
MMR:
19 November 2004
Hi Brian,
I am one
among those thousands of anxious parents baffled
by the facts and counterfacts about MMR and your
program really cleared my mind. I felt like i
need to appreciate you for taking pain to clear
this issue and delink the myths sorrounding MMR.
My only worries is that, eventhough such
unscruplous scientists put millions of children
life at risk by giving false reports, they can
walk with their shiny suits on freely and what is
the law of land doing..??
Keep the
work going and thanks a million.
Regards,
K.T.D.
MMR:
19 November 2004
Dear Brian
Deer
I was
interested in the programme on Channel 4, and
have taped it to study more closely.
I have two
grandchildren out of four in the same family who
suffer from Autism. Their mother is a GP and has
been extremely sceptical of the MMR connection
right from the start.
However what
is interesting is the possibility of the genetic
factor in this condition. My son in law, who, on
looking back on the last 15 years that we have
know him, has shown definite autistic tendencies
that have become much more pronounced over the
past 4 years, making him very difficult to live
with in a family orientated environment.
Is there a
possibility that the MMR might just trigger this
genetic factor, or is it better and earlier
diagnosis that this highlighting such a dramatic
increase in the number of cases?
Margaret
C.
MMR:
19 November 2004
Hello Brian
I am also a
journalist. I write for the
Guardian/Indy/Statesman. I watched Dispatches
last night with special interest as I am also a
mother of a 13 month old and we are at the stage
where we are wondering whether to let her have
the MMR jab. I wondered if I could ask you a few
questions, as a mother, not as a journalist!
Do you have
a child and if so has she/he had the MMR? Do you
or anyone you know involved in the making of the
programme have a vested/commercial interest in
vaccinations?
I ask
because this whole thing is just mind boggling.
You listen to one bit of research and then find
out the person behind it was having their pen
pushed.
I hope you
will answer this in the spirit of transparency
you are admirably keen on.
Thanks for
the programme and your investigations. I could
never do your job, far too scared!
Annalisa
B.
[Reply: The suggestion that
Brian Deer, or any of the team who made the
documentary, has any vested interest in, or
income from, vaccines is both wrong and bizarre.]
MMR:
19 November 2004
Hi,
Just watched
your incredibly biased programme promoting mmr.
Yes
Wakefield's interests are wrong, but how many
hospital patent procedures in case they provide a
cure from which the hospital can financially
benefit? Is this the norm, or is the Royal Free
an exception? How many doctors supporting mmr
have financial interests? You know as well as I
do that medicine exists and thrives on vested
interest - and very little science. Show me an
independent double blind placebo trial on the mmr
- not one exists - and such trials are the very
minimum that we parents should expect from those
that we charge with looking after the health of
our children.
How come you
did not interview a "knowledgeable"
parent of an autistic child - Jackie Fletcher for
instance?
You grossly
understated the incidence of autism which
contradicts the 1:170 quoted in the Sunday Times.
Michael
H.
[Reply: The programme-makers
invited Jackie Fletcher to participate. She
ignored the request and has since declined to
engage in debate with Brian Deer. Richard Barr,
longterm solicitor for the plaintiffs in the MMR
litigation, was also invited to participate. This
invitation was apparently ignored by Mr Barr, but
was quickly followed by the receipt by the
programme-makers of an aggressive warning letter
from Alexander Harris, solicitors. Parents who
claim their child was injured by MMR were also
invited to take part, but declined. One family
agreed to take part, and were filmed, but
withdrew after the programme-makers explained
that defamatory allegations against a GP and a
nurse, unsupported by any evidence, could not be
lawfully broadcast.]
MMR:
19 November 2004
Hi,
I teach a
course at our medical school which addresses,
among other things, both medical professionalism
and how medical and scientific information is
handled in the press. As such, I have been
following the MMR controversy in Great Britain
with great interest and would be delighted to
obtain a DVD/video copy of your recent
documentary if such is or eventually will be
available for purchase. Could you let me know?
Prof
Linda D. S.
[Reply: If there seems to be a
level of interest, we will see what we can do]
MMR:
20 November 2004
Watched
Dispatches with disgust at your level of bias.
Look at the whole picture.
Do you know
how many children have Crohn's disease as result
of MMR, or epilepsy or hearing problems. Get the
figures! The DOH don't want to know, the
information might be too damaging to them and
their vaccination policies.
Take
Wakefield out of the picture an start to look at
the REAL issue of healthy children suffering
permenant ill health after an MMR vaccine.
Take an
example of two very healthy children for 12
years, whose health began to deteriorate within
weeks of an MR vaccine at the age of 12. Both
twins diagnosed with Crohns, shortly after
vaccine, and both have suffered dreadfully and
had their lifes and futures destroyed, suffering
pain and surgery over last 10 years. One has had
major abdominal surgery three times in last 10
months and as result has a risk of not being able
to have children!
These are my
kids! That vaccine destroyed their lives and mine
as a result
Wonder what
your programme would have said if it had been
your child affected by MMR/MR!
Anne
M.
MMR: 22 November 2004
Dear Mr
Deer,
as a
paediatrician, could I just say thank you?
There's a lot I could add, but I'm sure you'll
get the message!
Alan
S.
Consultant
Community Paediatrician,
MMR:
22 November 2004
Brian,
Sadly I only
caught the last 20 mins of your Despatches. The
final sequence was very striking, where
Wakefield, he of the post publication press
conference and video, has not the mettle to face
you and your questions. The media biter bit.
What can t
be calculated, is how many avoidable congenital
rubella babies and measles complications/deaths
have occurred or will occur only because public
confidence in MMR was so cynically undermined.
Well done
and thanks, Brian.
Gary
R.
(GP and
Consultant in Communicable Disease Control)
MMR:
23 November 2004
Dear Mr
Deer,
Congratulations
on lifting the lid on Wakefield and giving the
public a glimpse of the junk science, opportunism
and misrepresentation which has characterised his
so-called academic career. Wakefield is a serial
offender, a surgeon with no scientific training,
and it shows. It needs to be remembered that his
previous claims for the involvement of measles
virus in Crohn's disease were thoroughly trashed
on technical grounds by the MRC, and that
subsequent studies have definitively shown there
is no measles virus genetic material in Crohn's
tissues. It has never been resolved how Wakefield
could claim to see virus particles in Crohn's
tissues, detect measles virus with antibodies
which were not specific for measles virus, and
continue to publish papers with images of measles
virus in Crohn's disease when Nick Chadwick was
generating data ( subsequently published) that
there was no measles virus in Crohn's. Wakefield
however never lets facts get in the way, and his
mini-biography at the International Child
Resource Development Centre still claims that he
made the " Discovery of measles virus in
inflammatory bowel disease". Yeah right.
In a clear
case of trying to get his retaliation in first,
Wakefield posted a site on the web last Thursday
www. mmrthequestions.com where he made some
interesting and unsustainable claims. He stated
that Chadwick's PCR was not sensitive enough to
detect measles virus in autistic children, so he
hooked up with O'Leary in Dublin who allegedly
can detect as low as 2 copies of the virus.
Chadwick could only detect down to 10,000 copies
of viral genetic material. Unfortunately for
Wakefield, even though the Uhlmann paper on
measles virus in the gut of autistic children has
flaws and omissions which make it completely
unreliable, the viral copy number in the autistic
children is stated to be as high as 300,000
copies. This of course is well in the range of
detection in the PCR Nick Chadwick used.
Explanation?
Desperately
trying to explain why he blatantly ignored Nick
Chadwick's results, Wakefield also states "
In addition, the negative results obtained by NCs
technique were inconsistent with other evidence
of measles virus in the inflamed intestinal
tissue obtained prior to publication of the
Lancet study in 1998." No details are given
but he is almost certainly referring to some more
junk immunostaining he did on gut samples from
autistic children allegedly detecting measles
virus protein. This has never been published as a
full paper but appeared at Digestive Diseases
Week in 1998 and was published in
Gastroenterology, 1998;174:A430. He has also been
showing images of this immunostaining all over
the world. The deadline for abstract submission
for DDW is the end of the calendar year so the
abstract would have to be written by Dec 1997.
Funnily enough, in this abstract, Wakefield does
not mention that Nick Chadwick could not detect
measles virus by PCR in gut samples of autistic
children. Given that Chadwick's PCR work and the
immunostaining were almost certainly done at
about the same time, it is probable that samples
from the same autistic children were included in
each form of analysis. It is virtually impossible
for measles virus to be detected by
immunochemistry, a relatively insensitive
technique, and not be detected by PCR. So we are
left with a situation where Wakefield just
ignores good data from Nick Chadwick which
undermine his hypothesis and includes junk data
which allegedly supports it. Unfortunately this
is only the tip of the iceberg.
Anon
MMR:
26 November 2004
Brian
I am a mum
of 2 boys who have both had the MMR in the middle
of the MMR scare.
Thank you
for giving that quack his come uppance.
I have
always thought that Wakefield was totally
irresponsible in his authorship and subsequent
criticisms of the MMR.
I just
wanted to say that I am grateful that someone as
tenacious as you seem to be decided to go for it
and at last someone showed us the simple stats of
risk of MMR versus risk of not having it and
reminded us that single vaccines are unproven. It
makes my blood boil that there are so many
intelligent women ( and it seems to me it is the
mothers who are ultimately deciding) that have
been grossly mislead by this man.
Thanks for
your hard work
Susie
M.
FEATURED FEEDBACK:
THE DISCOURTEOUS COUNTESS
UK House of
Lords, written answers, 10 January 2005:
Data
Protection Act 1998
"The
Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether under the Data Protection Act 1998 a
hospital may release to a journalist confidential
documents relating to patients, including
clinical findings and descriptions of medical
procedures on children who can be identified;
and, if not, whether it is in the public interest
for the Department of Health website "MMR
the facts" to include a link to the website
of the Sunday Times journalist Brian Deer.
[HL364]"
The
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State,
Department of Health (Lord Warner): "While
the Data Protection Act 1998 does not prevent
clinicians sharing information for necessary
medical purposes, the confidential nature of
health data prevents it being disclosed more
widely unless: identifying information has been
removed or anonymised; the individuals concerned
have given their consent to disclosure; there is
a statutory obligation to disclose or a court
order
requiring disclosure—it is in response to a
court order; there is an overriding public
interest (for example to protect public health).
"The
"MMR the facts" website has been put
together by the Immunisation Information team at
the Department of Health. The information team
makes available a range of materials designed to
provide both parents and health professionals
with the latest information on immunisation. As
is common practice, it provides links to other
sources of information that will help inform the
public interest and debate in the topic. As noted
on the site, the department is not responsible
for the content or reliability of linked
websites, and linking should not be taken as
endorsement of any kind."
[Who she anyhow? Apparently,
the twice-divorced countess of Mar was once a
British Telecom supervisor, but now keeps goats.
She inherited her title through the residue of
Scottish feudalism, and evidently thinks little
of using her soon-to-be-abolished position to
squander public money responding to such ignorant
claptrap. Brian Deer had no previous dealings
with the noble lady, so he phoned to ask if he
could help. Mar's response was pretty much par
for the course for the anti-vaccine lobby.]
Countess
of Mar: "Lady Mar."
Brian Deer: "Oh, hello Lady
Mar. This is Brian Deer from The Sunday
Times."
Countess of Mar: "I don't
think I wish to speak to you, Mr Deer."
[Hangs up]
Probably get more sense from
the goats.
MMR:
19 November 2004
Dear Mr
Deer,
May I
congratulate you and Channel 4 on perhaps the
finest piece of science journalism I have read or
seen in a half-century of interest in such
things.
I became
totally convinced that MMR is dafe when I read
that six independent statistical studies had
found no evidence of a connection between MMR and
Autism. I was horrified that not enough had come
from the media to persuade people of the safety
of MMR, particularly as my own grandson was given
three separate jabs.
It was
apparent that Dr Wakefield's nonsense and the
lack of an adequate response from government,
medical profession and media would cause
thousands of illnesses, many serious, and some
deaths. By the same logic you will save thousands
of children from suffering, and some from death.
Roy
A.
MMR:
3 December 2004
Hi,
I meant to
send this earlier!
I just to
wanted to congratulate you on your excellent MMR
Dispatches programme. I always thought Wakefield
was extremely suspect. You proved what everyone
had been thinking for years. A brilliant piece of
journalism.
Best wishes
Rob
M.
MMR:
3 December 2004
Just a short
note to say how impressed I am with your web site
and your journalism
Keep up the
good work
Dr
Sandy E.
MMR:
26 March 2005
Hi, I came
across your website while researching smz/tmp. I
found your site very informative. As I did some
more searching I was surprised to see a whole
section devoted to Dr. Wakefield and the MMR
fiasco. I should add that I'm the mother of an 11
year old autistic boy. While I really don't have
the insight as to what the real story is with the
MMR/autism connection, I personally know of
doctors/lab workers in England and the US who
have had their careers and future earning
abilities threatened if they did any research
that might end up supporting Dr. Wakefields'
finding. Don't you find this strange and
upsetting? If the connection is so false, then
why not have others try to duplicate the research
and see what the results are?
I also saw a
bit of bashing of Dr. Bradstreet's practice in
Florida. While he is not my son's doctor, my son
has done many of the DAN (Defeat Autism Now)
biomedical treatments and is making tremendous
improvements as are thousands of other children.
Many of the younger kids are recovering with the
early treatments especially chelation and
supplements. My son has gone from barely being
able to string together three words to just on
the verge of conversational today and keeps
improving. I don't know if you are aware but both
Dr. Bradstreet and Dr. Kartzinel have autistic
children so they have a vested interest in
finding treatments that work.
Since you
appear to have geniune concern to ferreting out
the truth, perhaps you'll want to look into the
matter of the thimerosal -autism connection and
what's happening to a generation of children.
Thanks for
your time
Mary
C, Brick, New Jersey.
CAROL
STOTT: 22 June 2005
That's the
funniest thing I've read for ages... And v brave
of you to take her on in the first
place: she looks like she might be supported by a
team of dildo wielding she-bikers... I would get
some security sorted if I were you.... Fancy a
lunch soon?
Paul
N, London.
HUGH
FUDENBERG (REPLY): 31 September 2005
I have just
been informed of your article on myself. I have
been on the World Health Organization's Expert
Committee on Immunology for 20 years, the Chief
Editor of the Journal of Clinical Immunology for
10 years, a member of the Counsel of the National
Institute of Allergy Immunology and Infectious
Diseases for five years, Chairman of the first
Immunology Department in the US, and visiting
Professor at almost every eminent medical school
in the world, including the Saint Mary's Medical
School, the Royal Free Hospital Medical School,
Middlesex Hospital and Hammersmith Medical School
(all in London), also at Oxford University and
Cambridge University Medical Schools. I have
honorary PhD degrees from Universities in France,
Italy, Germany, and China. I am also listed in
Who's Who in the World, you may also check that
for my credentials.
In terms of
TF, I enclose a letter from a dentist in
Illinois, who is the father of a patient with
severe Autism, whose symptoms appeared within 12
hours of receiving vaccines containing thimersol.
He failed to improve for six years to other
therapies, and has improved dramatically from our
therapy. I would be happy to furnish names, and
phone numbers, for other patients who have been
significantly helped, or completely cured.
You are
correct in stating my charges of some fifty per
hour, but these are donations to the Neuro
Immuno-Therapeutics Research Foundation, not
payments to me.
You are
right in saying that a neuro-psychiatrist
concluded that I have a disability. However, the
tests were performed in a brightly lit room, and
I have primary severe photophobia, documented by
electrorectinogram at Emory Medical School I
begged that the tests be carried out in a dark
room, but the neuro-psychiatrist did not believe
me, having never heard of this disorder before.
In the year 2000, there were 38 known patients
with this disorder.
You plainly
do not believe that vaccines with mercury therein
can cause problems. I enclose a summary of an
invited review which was published last month in
the International Journal of Clinical
Investigation, a list of other material on this
or related subjects. I also enclose a summary of
the cover-up of a meeting concerning thimersol in
vaccines, I also enclose letters sent to science
writers of the NY Times, LA Times, etc.
I would be
happy to respond to any other charges, but this
letter is already too long, so you may call me at
my phone number listed below.
Failure to
notify me before publishing these charges plus
failure to publish a retraction to these charges
appears to me to be grounds for legal action. I
am sending a copy of this letter to my attorney,
and will pursue further action if you do not
publish a retraction.
Sincerely
H.H.
Fudenberg, M.D., D.D.G., I.O.M.
THOUGHTFUL
HOUSE: 24 October
2005
As a parent
of an autistic child with severe inflammatory
bowel disease that was diagnosed at the Royal
Free in 1999 I wonder what your problem is. My
son was also treated by Dr. Krigsman in 2003 when his
entire esophagus was full of lesions. He is now
being treated by the head of Pediatric
Gastroenterology at Childrens Memorial Hospital
part of Northwestern University here in Chicago
who AGREES with Drs. Wakefield and Krigsman that
my son has an autoimmune disease of his entire GI
tract likely caused by a viral agent. I have no
idea what your problem is but you are not helping
these children who are very sick. Perhaps you
need to seek some type of psychiatry therapy Mr.
Deer.
Elizabeth
Birt, Chicago.
[Sadly, two months after this
suggestion, Elizabeth Birt was killed in a road
traffic accident]
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