HEALTH bosses in Bury are urging parents to allow their children to have the controversial MMR jab following the publication of an independent study which gives the vaccine the all-clear.

Dr Peter Elton, Bury Primary Care Trust's director of public health, has warned that cases of measles and mumps, which in some instances can be fatal, will rise unless the uptake of the injection increases in the borough.

In recent years uptake of the vaccination has decreased following claims it is linked to autism. However, the Consumers' Association reported, following its comprehensive study of the MMR vaccine, that the injection "cannot be responsible for the large rise in diagnosed autism".

The report also stated: "The weight of published evidence argues overwhelming in favour of MMR vaccine as the most effective and safest way of protecting children from measles, mumps and rubella."

Dr Elton said: "Unfortunately the scare about the combined MMR vaccination will lead to children experiencing unnecessary suffering from contracting measles, mumps or rubella. Both measles and mumps cause severe complications and in some cases can be fatal. The prevention of rubella is also important as contracting it while pregnant can cause severe disability of the child."

He added: "As the rates of MMR have dropped towards about 80 per cent in Bury, it is inevitable that there will be outbreaks of these diseases. This is especially dangerous for the most vulnerable groups, such as infants too young to be immunised, children whose immunity is low due to serious illness such as cancer and the unborn child, whose mother is vulnerable to rubella.

Dr Elton concluded: "Single doses are not acceptable. We cannot keep up high levels of immunity with the delays that would occur using single doses and it would just cause unnecessary increased discomfort for children. I would urge any parent who has not taken their child for the MMR vaccine, to urgently reconsider their decision."