I had intended to talk about the “incalculable” harm that may have been done by the recent irresponsible media reporting about HPV vaccine, but then I realised that much of the actual damage can be estimated quite accurately. Previous unfounded scare-mongering about the side effects of vaccines have always resulted in measurable declines in vaccination rates, which have always translated directly into additional deaths or cases of disease.

Back in January, London-based LBC Radio broadcast a show hosted by Jeni Barnett that has become infamous. In an hour long segment, all sorts of wild claims were made about MMR by the host, covering the full spectrum from the vaguely reasonable to the nonsensical. Health professionals who phoned-in to the show were shouted down, while a homeopath caller was given free rein to make a range of wild accusations. In short, it was a travesty, so much so that a complaint was made to OfCom, who have today issued their ruling.

[bpsdb] Guest post by British doctor DeeTee. See more by DeeTee here.

I don’t often waste my time browsing websites that promote an anti-vaccine agenda. I usually have far better things to do, and I find that a few minutes exposure to the malignant stupidity they contain makes my head throb. But recently, I looked at the JABS web site, and ended up reading through a thread from 2006. It was from the father of a little girl called Anna, and it started by describing the anguish and heartbreak his family had experienced following her tragic death the month before.

[bpsdb] Please give a warm welcome to guest blogger "DeeTee", a British doctor with experience working in Africa.

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We are used to hearing from antivaccine lobbyists that diseases like measles are trivial conditions, notable only because they used to give kids the chance of a few days bunking off school. Sure, most of us old enough to have been children in the prevaccine era will probably think "what is the fuss all about?" But memory plays us false, and the reality can be quite different.