From the struggle for freedom to the denial of scientific evidence: history of anti-vaccinationists in Europe

Abstract

The 1853 Vaccination Act, adopted in England during XIX century, was the first law about compulsory vaccination in Europe. The Act caused a violent movement of opposition with the birth of Victorian anti-vaccination. The modern anti-vaccination movement was born in 1998 following a paper of Andrew Wakefield published in the Lancet. In this paper Wakefield illustrated a study of twenty patients and concluded that the administration of the MMR vaccine caused autism and some forms of colitis. The publication was later disowned by almost all authors. However the study of Wakefield caused a reduction of compliance to the anti-MMR vaccination in the United Kingdom, resulting in lower coverage and new outbreaks. The theorethical principles of anti-vaccinationists of 19th and 20th century were: the hypothesis that vaccines cause illnesses; the presence of toxic substances in the vaccine; the violation of freedom Personal and People's; the ineffectiveness of vaccinations. Moreover, anti-vaccinationists always refused the scientific methods and the peer-review of their scientific studies.


Autore Pugliese

Tutti gli autori

  • Tafuri S. , Martinelli D. , Prato R. , Germinario C.

Titolo volume/Rivista

ANNALI DI IGIENE MEDICINA PREVENTIVA E DI COMUNITÀ


Anno di pubblicazione

2011

ISSN

1120-9135

ISBN

Non Disponibile


Numero di citazioni Wos

Nessuna citazione

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Non Disponibile


Numero di citazioni Scopus

9

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Settori ERC

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Codici ASJC

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