Lajmet e fundit
A drop in measles vaccination left about 5,000 children in Kosovo unprotected. Experts Izet Sadiku and Ilir Alimehmeti explain that large studies in Denmark, Finland and the USA found no scientific connection between the measles vaccine and autism, while misinformation spreads on social media.
Misinformation has reduced measles vaccination among children in Kosovo, leaving roughly 5,000 kids without timely protection. The measles vaccine is often linked to autism, but experts have debunked that connection.
Infectiologist Izet Sadiku explained that misinformation spread through social networks, where anyone can voice opinions, and that earlier studies were flawed.
“In this issue, social networks have also played a role; they are uncontrolled, and anyone can give their opinion. This problem started in the 1990s when a group of doctors claimed a link to autism, but it turned out the research was wrong, the study was withdrawn, the doctor’s license was revoked and he never practiced medicine again.”
Professor Ilir Alimehmeti of the Faculty of Medicine in Tirana emphasized that large studies in Denmark (650,000 children), Finland (535,000 children) and the United States (100,000 children) found no link between the measles vaccine and autism.
“In ’98, when that study was published with only 12 children, it obviously raised a red flag and alarmed the entire research community, because we immediately started looking for relevant investigations. And many …”
