Increased Risk Of Seizures Following MMR Vaccine

Recent findings published in the journal Nature Genetics suggest a link between the vaccination for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) and febrile seizures among a small number of children or about one in every 1,000 children who are given MMR vaccinations.

Though lead study author Biarke Feenstra of the Statens Serume Institute in Copenhagen noted that the MMR vaccine has been a great success, preventing the death of more than one million children worldwide per year, findings also revealed an additional four variants that were linked to febrile seizures in general with no connection to the MMR vaccine, according to background information from the study.  

Furthermore, children who had the highest tally of the four variants were about four times more likely to also deal with febrile seizures than counterparts who had the least number.

However, the study did not make it clear if children who had seizures did so as a result of getting a triple immunization as opposed to getting single shots to protect against the three diseases. 

In addition, the gene trawl was only carried out in Denmark, and it is unknown whether the same risk exists, or exists to the same degree, in children elsewhere.