§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from(a) parents and (b) doctors concerning a possible link between vaccinations, antibiotics and brain damage in children. [29259]
§ Ms JowellWe have not received any representations from doctors about a possible link between vaccinations, antibiotics and brain damage and have recently received correspondence from one parent on this subject. The United Kingdom health departments' memorandum 807W "Immunisation against Infectious Disease" states in paragraph 7.6 that treatment with antibiotics is not a contraindication to immunisation.
We are not aware of any concern among the medical profession about this matter, nor of any scientific evidence about such a link. The incidence of adverse reactions following immunisation have been found to be the same in children with or without the following mild illnesses: upper respiratory tract infection; diarrhoea or otitis media (an ear infection). It seems likely that some of the children in these studies were taking antibiotics around the time of immunisation.