VACCINES AND AUTISM

Correlation Between Childhood Vaccines And Autism - Do Vaccines Cause Autism?



Correlation Between Childhood Vaccines And Autism - Do Vaccines Cause Autism?

Introduction

Currently there is controversy on this issue, with government and top scientists on the one hand, and several citizen groups that oppose routine vaccination, on the other. Given this controversy, many parents are confused and concerned about the health of their children. These groups say that thimerosal; a preservative used in vaccines is toxic to the central nervous system and is responsible for an alarming increase in autism rates among children in the United States and worldwide. Most scientists say there is no credible scientific evidence proving that vaccines cause autism (Gerber, Offit, 2009).

Over the past 15 years, several major medical institutions analyzed the evidence from the United States and abroad, and all concluded that there is no link between autism and thimerosal exposure. In addition, the preservative has been removed from most childhood vaccines in the United States. Some health activists call into question the validity of existing science and argue that the United States government has conspired with vaccine manufacturers to hide the truth about thimerosal and autism (Gerber, Offit, 2009).

Thesis Statement

Thimerosal is a mercury-based preservative that until recently was a member of many vaccines, does not increase the risk of autism in children.

Discussion

Correlation between childhood vaccines and autism - do vaccines cause autism?

Health issue

American associations representing some 5,000 families whose children became autistic after having apparently received an MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) have brought the matter to court on the grounds that there was a plausible link between cause and effect between autism and the childhood vaccines. Since the late 1990s, autism caused much ink and supplies a vast literature, both bookish and on the Internet, and increasingly controversial. Let us pause about the disease and the reasons that led these victims to file the case in the public square. First of all, define autism (Gerber, Offit, 2009).

What is autism?

Autism was first described in 1943 by the American child psychiatrist Leo Kanner of Austrian origin who identified not as a psychosis of the child but as a disease in itself. This disease is classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Psychological Association (APA) as a developmental disorder resulting from a disorder of the central nervous system (Gerber, Offit, 2009). Since this discovery, autism is no longer the purview of psychiatry but of neuroscience and genetics. Autism is characterized by difficulties communicating and interacting with others, accompanied by stereotyped repetitive behaviors, sometimes with mental retardation or epilepsy. The child isolates himself in silence in his world the greatest dérarroi of his parents (Gerber, Offit, 2009).

Autism is usually diagnosed when the child reaches 2 or 3 years, when he developed interactions with others. Specialized tests can often suspect earlier developmental disabilities like autism. In some children with autism, development appears normal for many months, before being followed by a decline, sometimes quite suddenly, in the language, play and ...