This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Figures show immunisation 'success story'
25/04/2002
Figures released today show that Scotland's childhood vaccination programme has resulted in a dramatic decline in the rates of previously common childhood diseases, such as whooping cough, measles, mumps and rubella, over the past 10 years.
Since the introduction of the combined MMR vaccine in 1988, notifications of measles dropped by nearly 90 per cent, from 2980 to 301 and mumps and rubella by 96 per cent. During the same period, notifications of whooping cough dropped by 88 per cent.
Notifications, which are reports from doctors to NHS Boards of suspected cases, rather than confirmed cases, help to demonstrate trends in incidence of disease.
Scotland's Chief Medical Officer, Dr Mac Armstrong, said:
"Immunisation has been one of the great health success stories of the last century. Studies have shown the impact of immunisation as second only to that of clean water in improving health worldwide.
"These figures reflect the results of universal immunisation programmes in virtually eliminating many of these serious diseases in Scotland.
"Given the recent controversy over the MMR vaccine, these figures highlight how vital it is that we work together to maintain immunisation uptake rates, in order to continue to protect children and vulnerable adults from these serious, and sometimes fatal, diseases."
The Statistics publication 'Notifiable diseases in Children 2000' is published today by the Information and Statistics Division of the Common Services Agency.
Data collected on notifiable infectious diseases allow regular monitoring of infection and provide up to date information on outbreaks. Scotland's childhood population are protected against previously feared diseases through immunisation. The immunisation programme routinely offers children protection against diptheria, whooping cough (pertussis), tetanus, polio, haemophilius influensae type B (Hib), Meningococcal serogroup C disease (Men C), measles, mumps, rubella and tuberculosis (BCG).