The capacity for one man or woman to leave a lasting impact on the world around them is truly amazing. Throughout history, there are many examples of movements being led by a singular persistent and passionate individual. Indeed, many religions can be traced back to the teachings of one person who captivated and convinced their peers. Within the world of healthcare, one such man is Andrew Wakefield. Unfortunately, the legacy he left behind was riddled with sickness, fear, corruption, and death.
Andrew Wakefield was a fairly unknown gastroenterologist until the late 90’s. Then, when he published a study connecting the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine to autism in 1998, he become somewhat famous. This claim, of course, led to concerns about the safety of this vaccine. Despite the boldness of this claim, Wakefield’s study was neither accurate nor ethical. Indeed, as a recent New Yorker article points out, there were only 12 participants in the study, far too small a group to make any reliable conclusions. Additionally, the original study reveals that all of the participants were already coming to the doctor with the suspicion that the MMR vaccine had caused developmental delays in their children. Even more, an article in the BMJ notes that much of the information reported by Wakefield concerning these 12 children in the study was falsified. This article also discredits Wakefield’s study by pointing out that the implication of the MMR vaccine in autism was financially beneficial for him as he was in a lawsuit with the manufacturers of the MMR vaccine at the time. Finally, the article relates that over the 10 years following his study, no other studies supported Wakefield’s dramatic findings.
Clearly, there was a lot of corruption and bias involved in this study. Nevertheless, Wakefield published it and managed to frighten many people away from vaccines in the process. As a Public Health article notes, it was only later that it was discovered that Wakefield could receive certain financial benefits from the ‘results’ he published. When this was found, Wakefield’s medical license was pulled. Unfortunately, he continues to insist on the verity of his claims. Because of Wakefield’s persistence, and the shocking nature of his ‘findings,’ this falsified study continues to affect the world today.
One example of Wakefield’s legacy is the recent outbreak of measles in the US. According to a national update from the CDC, between January and September of last year, the US experienced the highest resurgence of measles cases since 1992, at 1,249 cases. Most of these cases (89%) were found in unvaccinated patients. How is it that measles has returned with such a vengeance, despite its effective eradication from the US in 2000? Well, there is an increased contact with the rest of the world, and the disease is being carried to the US, where it finds a perfect breeding ground in unvaccinated communities.
So, yes, while some men and women do leave a lasting, positive impact on the world around them, there are just as many who change the world for the worse. For proof of this, one need only look to those such as Andrew Wakefield.
Microbes and Musings 