September 22, 2014
Corresponding author: Susy Yusung syusung@labiomed.org
Department of Pediatrics, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, 1000 W Carson St, Torrance 90502, CA, USA
BMC Medicine 2014, 12:166 doi:10.1186/s12916-014-0166-6
Background
Measles virus is a highly contagious organism that can cause multiple organ system complications and even death. Introduction of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine in the 1970s has saved innumerable lives and attenuated severe morbidities globally. Despite these remarkable gains, a claim emerged in the 1990s which associated MMR vaccine with colitis and autism spectrum disorders [1]-[4]. These association studies have been recognized as methodologically flawed and in some instances factually erroneous by the scientific and medical communities [5]. However, doubt and even outright rejection of the vaccine’s safety still linger in various niches of our society. These concerns have also reverberated in the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) community, in part related to the publication of a study series implying measles infection or vaccination with the live attenuated virus mediate pathogenesis of Crohn’s disease (CD) [3],[4],[6]. Despite recognition that these studies were flawed in methodology and hypothesis, they continue to provoke much debate and inquiry into the role of measles virus in the pathogenesis of IBD.
⓿ The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/12/166
image source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/19/science/19vacc.html?pagewanted=all
