Charting the events surrounding the publication of the Wakefield paper

摘要

The author; Richard Horton, was editor of The Lancet at the time that the now infamous 1998 paper by Wakefield et al was published. The "early report" described a new syndrome of bowel disease and autism in children, a high proportion of whom had received vaccination with MMR (a combination preparation containing live attenuated measles, mumps and rubella strains). Despite clear caveats that the data did not prove an association, the authors went on to suggest at a press conference that single-agent vaccines should be offered as a safer alternative to the combination MMR preparation. A collapse in public confidence in MMR vaccination ensued, despite the subsequent publication of much data refuting the likelihood of an association between MMR and autism. And, in 2004, The Lancet published a partial retraction of the 1998 paper, stating that the data were insufficient to support a link.