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{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2015}}
{{Infobox person
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{circa}} {{birth year and age|df=yes|1957}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|df=yes|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date then birth) -->
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| residence =
| nationality = British
| citizenship =
| known_for = [[MMR vaccine controversy]]
| education = [[King Edward's School, Bath]]
| alma_mater = [[St Mary's Hospital Medical School]], London
| notable works =
| occupation = Former [[surgeon]], researcher
| years_active =
| home_town = Bath, England
| spouse =
| children =
| parents =
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| website =
}}

'''Andrew Jeremy Wakefield''' (born&nbsp;{{circa}}&nbsp;1957) is a British former surgeon and medical researcher, known for his 1998 research paper in support of the now- that there was a link between the administration of the [[MMR vaccine|measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine]], and the appearance of [[autism]] and bowel disease.<ref name=WakefieldarticleBMJ/><ref name=retractions/><ref name=Time_great_frauds/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://webcache.gmc-uk.org/gmclrmp_enu/start.swe?SWECmd=GotoView&_sn=oMaMo82xkMABe6AKmG9oobxBnLdQIth.Z.UC7-MQtTKuOSPnh7SZ9nKRbX-VMjY3YuCuh0CeZEPUsx6N0bx9zl0HRaBNLllt3JgPihTu0XhFiO5txRcmBRXjWXNI5i73qKbtp1FOkVqZ05e16Rxtl8iA.hl-R6jKPm8iEPahyng-VDodvbRpDowR8jR.PE1w-S3X95vO-vg_&SWEView=GMC+WEB+Doctor+Search&SRN=&SWEHo=webcache.gmc-uk.org&SWETS=1401564587&SWEApplet=GMC+WEB+Health+Provider+Search+Applet |title=GMC LRMP |format= |work= |accessdate=31 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://briandeer.com/solved/gmc-charge-sheet.pdf |title=briandeer.com |format=pdf |work= |accessdate=31 May 2014}}</ref>

After the publication of the paper, other researchers were unable to [[reproducibility|reproduce]] Wakefield's findings or confirm his hypothesis of an association between the MMR vaccine and autism,<ref>{{cite journal |author=Madsen KM, Hviid A, Vestergaard M, et al. |title=A population-based study of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination and autism |journal=N. Engl. J. Med. |volume=347 |issue=19 |pages=1477–82 |date=November 2002 |pmid=12421889 |doi=10.1056/NEJMoa021134 |url=}}</ref> or autism and gastrointestinal disease.<ref name="black-2002">{{cite journal |author=Black C, Kaye JA, Jick H|title=Relation of childhood gastrointestinal disorders to autism: nested case-control study using data from the UK General Practice Research Database |journal=BMJ |volume=325|issue=7361 |pages=419–21 |date=August 2002 |pmid=12193358 |pmc=119436 |doi= 10.1136/bmj.325.7361.419}}</ref> A 2004 investigation by ''[[Sunday Times]]'' reporter [[Brian Deer]] identified undisclosed financial [[conflict of interest|conflicts of interest]] on Wakefield's part,<ref>{{cite news | author = [[Brian Deer|Deer, Brian]] | title = Revealed: MMR research scandal |work=The Sunday Times | date = 22 February 2004 | url = http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/health/article1879347.ece | accessdate= 12 December 2012 | location=London}}</ref> and most of his co-authors then [[Autistic enterocolitis#Retraction of paper|withdrew their support]] for the study's interpretations.<ref>{{cite news| author = McKee, Maggie | title = Controversial MMR and autism study retracted |work = New Scientist | date = 4 March 2004 | url = http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn4743 | accessdate = 10 August 2007| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070813055100/http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn4743| archivedate= 13 August 2007 | deadurl= no}}</ref> The British [[General Medical Council]] (GMC) conducted an inquiry into allegations of [[Scientific misconduct|misconduct]] against Wakefield and two former colleagues.<ref>{{cite news| title = MMR doctor 'to face GMC charges' |publisher=BBC News | date = 12 June 2006 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5070670.stm | accessdate = 10 August 2007| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070902161909/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5070670.stm| archivedate= 2 September 2007 | deadurl= no}}</ref> The investigation centred on Deer's numerous findings, including that children with autism were subjected to unnecessary invasive medical procedures,<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1136/bmj.328.7442.726-a |author=Ferriman A |title=MP raises new allegations against Andrew Wakefield |journal=BMJ |volume=328 |issue=7442 |page=726 |date=March 2004 |pmid=15612092 |pmc=381348}}</ref> such as [[colonoscopy]] and [[lumbar puncture]], and that Wakefield acted without the required ethical approval from an [[institutional review board]].

On 28 January 2010, a five-member statutory tribunal of the GMC found three dozen charges proved, including four counts of dishonesty and 12 counts involving the abuse of developmentally challenged children.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://briandeer.com/solved/gmc-charge-sheet.pdf | format = PDF| title = General Medical Council, Fitness to Practise Panel Hearing, 28 January 2010, Andrew Wakefield, John Walker-Smith & Simon Murch | accessdate =6 January 2011 |author=Deer, Brian |publisher=briandeer.com| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20101213133507/http://briandeer.com/solved/gmc-charge-sheet.pdf| archivedate= 13 December 2010 | deadurl= no}}</ref> The panel ruled that Wakefield had "failed in his duties as a responsible consultant", acted both against the interests of his patients, and "dishonestly and irresponsibly" in his published research.<ref name="YEP GMC result">{{cite news | url = http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/BREAKING-MMR-expert-failed-in.6024127.jp | title = MMR-row doctor failed in his duties | work = [[Yorkshire Evening Post]] | date = 28 January 2010 | accessdate = 28 January 2010| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100130075415/http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/BREAKING-MMR-expert-failed-in.6024127.jp| archivedate= 30 January 2010 | deadurl= no}}</ref><ref name="BBC GMC result">{{cite news | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8483865.stm | title = MMR scare doctor 'acted unethically', panel finds |publisher=BBC News | date = 28 January 2010 | accessdate = 28 January 2010 | first=Nick | last=Triggle| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100128033313/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8483865.stm| archivedate= 28 January 2010 | deadurl= no}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/jan/28/andrew-wakefield-mmr-vaccine |title= Andrew Wakefield found 'irresponsible' by GMC over MMR vaccine scare |work=The Guardian |date= 28 January 2010 |accessdate= 9 January 2011 |author= Boseley, Sarah |location=London| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20110214200731/http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/jan/28/andrew-wakefield-mmr-vaccine| archivedate= 14 February 2011 | deadurl= no}}</ref> ''[[The Lancet]]'' fully retracted the 1998 publication on the basis of the GMC's findings, noting that elements of the manuscript had been falsified.<ref name="retraction">{{cite journal|last1=The Editors Of ''The Lancet''|title=Retraction – Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children |journal=The Lancet |volume=375 |issue=9713 |page=445 |date=February 2010 |pmid=20137807 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(10)60175-4 | url = http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(10)60175-4/fulltext}}</ref> ''The Lancet's'' editor-in-chief [[Richard Horton (editor)|Richard Horton]] said the paper was "utterly false" and that the journal had been "deceived".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/feb/02/lancet-retracts-mmr-paper|title=Lancet retracts 'utterly false' MMR paper |newspaper=The Guardian|date= 2 February 2010|accessdate=14 January 2015 | location=London | author=Boseley, Sarah}}</ref> Three months following ''The Lancet's'' retraction, Wakefield was struck off the [[General Medical Council#Registering doctors in the UK|UK medical register]], with a statement identifying deliberate falsification in the research published in ''The Lancet'',<ref name=gmc-uk_Wakefield_SPM>{{cite web | url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130512115524/http://www.gmc-uk.org/Wakefield_SPM_and_SANCTION.pdf_32595267.pdf | format = PDF| title = General Medical Council, Fitness to Practise Panel Hearing, 24 May 2010, Andrew Wakefield, Determination of Serious Professional Misconduct | accessdate =18 September 2011 | publisher=General Medical Council}}</ref> and is barred from practising medicine in the UK.<ref name=MeikleBoseley>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/may/24/mmr-doctor-andrew-wakefield-struck-off |title=MMR row doctor Andrew Wakefield struck off register |newspaper=The Guardian|date= 24 May 2010|accessdate=24 May 2010 | location=London | last1= Meikle|first1=James|first2=Sarah|last2=Boseley| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100527003931/http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/may/24/mmr-doctor-andrew-wakefield-struck-off| archivedate= 27 May 2010 | deadurl= no}}</ref>

In January 2011, an editorial accompanying an article by Brian Deer in ''[[BMJ]]'' identified Wakefield's work as an "elaborate fraud".<ref name=WakefieldarticleBMJ>{{cite journal |year= 2011 |doi= 10.1136/bmj.c7452 |page= c7452 |volume= 342|title= Wakefield's article linking MMR vaccine and autism was fraudulent |author= Godlee F, Smith J, Marcovitch H |journal = BMJ |url=http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.c7452.full |pmid=21209060}}</ref><ref name=NPRWakefield>{{cite news |url= http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/01/06/132703314/study-linking-childhood-vaccine-and-autism-was-fraudulent |publisher= [[NPR]] | agency= Associated Press |title= Study linking vaccine to autism was fraud |date= 6 January 2011 |accessdate= 6 January 2011| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20110107180150/http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/01/06/132703314/study-linking-childhood-vaccine-and-autism-was-fraudulent| archivedate= 7 January 2011 | deadurl= no}}</ref><ref name='discredited'>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article7012267.ece |title=Lancet journal retracts Andrew Wakefield MMR scare paper |author=Rose, David|date=3 February 2010 |work=The Times |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5nGfAGGJ9 |archivedate=3 February 2010 | location=London}}</ref> In a follow-up article,<ref name=HowMakeMoney/> Deer said that Wakefield had planned to launch a venture on the back of an MMR vaccination scare that would profit from new medical tests and "litigation driven testing".<ref name=AuthorHeld/> In November 2011, yet another report in ''BMJ''<ref>{{cite journal |year= 2011 | doi=10.1136/bmj.d6823 |page= 984 |volume= 343|title= Pathology reports solve 'new bowel disease' riddle |author= Deer B |journal = BMJ |url=http://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d6823 |pmid=22077090}}</ref> revealed original raw data indicating that, contrary to Wakefield's claims in ''The Lancet'', children in his research did not have inflammatory bowel disease.<ref>{{cite journal |year= 2011 | doi= 10.1136/bmj.d6985 |page= 990 |volume= 343|title= Commentary: I see no convincing evidence of 'enterocolitis,' 'colitis,' or a 'unique disease process' |author= Geboes K |journal = BMJ |url=http://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d6985 |pmid= 22077092}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |year= 2011 | doi= 10.1136/bmj.d6985 |page= 990 |volume= 343|title= Commentary: We came to an overwhelming and uniform opinion that these reports do not show colitis |author= Bjarnason I |journal = BMJ |url=http://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d6979 |pmid= 22077091}}</ref>

Wakefield's study and his claim that the MMR vaccine might cause autism led to a decline in vaccination rates in the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland and a corresponding rise in [[measles]] and [[mumps]], resulting in serious illness and deaths, and his continued warnings against the vaccine have contributed to a climate of distrust of all vaccines and the reemergence of other previously controlled diseases.<ref name=AgeOld>{{cite journal |author= Poland GA, Jacobson RM |title= The Age-Old Struggle against the Antivaccinationists |journal= N Engl J Med |volume= 364 |issue= 2 |pages= 97–9 |date= 13 January 2011 |pmid= 21226573 |url= http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1010594|doi=10.1056/NEJMp1010594}}</ref><ref name="truth">{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5683643.ece|title=Hidden records show MMR truth|newspaper=The Sunday Times|date=19 February 2009 | location=London |author= Deer, Brian |accessdate= 6 January 2011}}</ref><ref name=Time/> Wakefield has continued to defend his research and conclusions, saying there was no fraud, hoax or [[profit motive]].<ref name=WakefieldStatement/><ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=March 2012}}{{cite news |url= http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.c7452.full/reply |title= BMJ replies to emails |work=BMJ |date=7 February 2011 |location= London |last=Godlee|first=Fiona |accessdate= 12 April 2011}}</ref> As recently as February 2015, he publicly repeated his denials and refused to back down from his assertions,<ref>Ziv S. Andrew Wakefield, Father of the Anti-Vaccine Movement, Responds to the Current Measles Outbreak for the First Time. [http://www.newsweek.com/2015/02/20/andrew-wakefield-father-anti-vaccine-movement-sticks-his-story-305836.html ''Newsweek'' magazine, February 10, 2015]. Retrieved 17 February 2015.</ref> despite the fact—as stated by a British Administrative Court Justice in a related decision—that "there is now no respectable body of opinion which supports [Dr. Wakefield's] hypothesis, that MMR vaccine and autism/enterocolitis are causally linked."<ref>[http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2012/503.html Walker-Smith v General Medical Council &#91;2012&#93; EWHC 503 (Admin) (07 March 2012)]. Retrieved 17 February 2015.</ref>

== Early life and education ==

Wakefield was born in 1957;<ref name=BBCProfile>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3513365.stm |title= Profile: Dr Andrew Wakefield |publisher=BBC |date= 27 January 2010 |accessdate= 9 January 2011}}</ref><ref name="ManBehind"/>
his father was a neurologist and his mother was a general practitioner.<ref name=Goddard/> After leaving the independent [[King Edward's School, Bath]],<ref name=TheBath>{{cite web |url= http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/news/Verdict-MMR-doctor/article-1772564-detail/article.html |title= Verdict on MMR doctor |work= The Bath Chronicle |date= 28 January 2010 |accessdate = 6 January 2011}}</ref> Wakefield studied medicine at [[St Mary's Hospital Medical School]]<ref name=Goddard>{{cite web | author = Goddard A| title = In the news: Andrew Wakefield = Times Higher Education Supplement | date = 27 February 2004 | url = http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=183275&sectioncode=26 |publisher= TSL Education Ltd.}}</ref> (now [[Imperial College School of Medicine]]), fully qualifying in 1981.

Wakefield became a fellow of the [[Royal College of Surgeons]] in 1985.<ref name=ManBehind>{{cite news | url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7091767/Andrew-Wakefield-the-man-behind-the-MMR-controversy.html | accessdate = 19 February 2010 | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph | title=Andrew Wakefield – the man behind the MMR controversy | author= Smith, Rebecca | date=29 January 2010}}</ref>

== Career ==

At the [[University of Toronto]] from 1986 to 1989, he was part of a team that studied tissue rejection problems with [[small intestine]] transplantation, using animal models.<ref name=RossStarFraudulent>{{cite news |url=http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/918362--andrew-wakefield-s-fraudulent-research |title= Andrew Wakefield's fraudulent vaccine research |author=Ross, Oakland |work=The Star |date= 7 January 2011 |accessdate= 8 January 2011 |location=Toronto}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1097/00007890-198903000-00028 |author=Silverman RE |title=Monocyte/macrophage procoagulant activity as a measure of immune responsiveness in Lewis and brown Norway inbred rats. Discordance with lymphocyte proliferative assays |journal=Transplantation |volume=47 |issue=3 |pages=542–8 |date=March 1989 |pmid=2522255 |author2=Cohen Z |author3=Craig M |last4=Wakefield |first4=Andrew |last5=Kim |first5=Peter |last6=Langer |first6=Bernard |last7=Levy |first7=Gary|display-authors=3 }}</ref> He continued his studies of small intestine transplantation under a [[Wellcome Trust]] travelling fellowship at University of Toronto in Canada.<ref name="ManBehind" />

=== Claims of measles virus–Crohn's disease link ===

Back in the UK, he worked on the liver transplant programme at the [[Royal Free Hospital]] in London.<ref name="ManBehind"/> In 1993, Wakefield attracted professional attention when he published reports in which he concluded that measles virus might cause [[Crohn's disease]];<ref>{{cite journal |author=Wakefield AJ, Pittilo RM, Sim R, et al. |title=Evidence of persistent measles virus infection in Crohn's disease |journal=J. Med. Virol. |volume=39 |issue=4 |pages=345–53 |date=April 1993 |pmid=8492105 |doi= 10.1002/jmv.1890390415|url=}}</ref> and two years later he published a paper in ''[[The Lancet]]'' proposing a link between the measles vaccine and Crohn's disease.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Thompson NP, Montgomery SM, Pounder RE, Wakefield AJ |title=Is measles vaccination a risk factor for inflammatory bowel disease? |journal=Lancet |volume=345 |issue=8957 |pages=1071–4 |date=April 1995 |pmid=7715338 |doi= 10.1016/s0140-6736(95)90816-1|url=}}</ref> Subsequent research failed to confirm this hypothesis, with a group of experts in Britain reviewing a number of peer-reviewed studies in 1998 and concluding that the measles virus did not cause Crohn's disease, and that the MMR vaccine did not either.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2010/06/wakefields_first_try.2.html | title=Wakefield's First Try | work=[[Slate.com]] | date=2 June 2010 | accessdate=27 December 2013 | author=Siva, Nayanah}}</ref>

Later, in 1995, while conducting research into Crohn's disease, he was approached by Rosemary Kessick, the parent of a child with autism, who was seeking help with her son's bowel problems and autism; Kessick ran a group called Allergy Induced Autism.<ref name=Shot>{{cite news | author = Langdon-Down, Grania | title = Law: A shot in the dark; The complications from vaccine damage seem to multiply in the courtroom | page = 25 |work=The Independent | date = 27 November 1996 | url = http://briandeer.com/wakefield/dawbarns-kessick.htm | publisher= Brian Deer | format = Reprint | accessdate = 10 August 2007 | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070810044020/http://briandeer.com/wakefield/dawbarns-kessick.htm| archivedate= 10 August 2007 | deadurl= no}}</ref> In 1996, Wakefield turned his attention to researching possible connections between the MMR vaccine and autism.<ref name="ManBehind"/>

At the time of his MMR research study, Wakefield was senior lecturer and honorary [[Consultant (medicine)|consultant]] in experimental [[gastroenterology]] at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine (from 2008, [[UCL Medical School]]). He resigned in 2001,<ref name="unpopular"/> by "mutual agreement and was made a fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists",<ref name=TimesProfile/> and moved to the US in 2001<ref name=TimesStruck>{{cite news |url= http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article7134893.ece |date= 25 May 2010 |title= Dr Andrew Wakefield struck off medical register |author= Sanchez, Raf and David Rose |work=The Times|location= London |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20100601070035/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article7134893.ece|archivedate=1 June 2010}}</ref> or 2004,<ref name=TimesProfile>{{cite news |title= Profile: Andrew Wakefield, the man at the centre of the MMR scare |url= http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article7135099.ece |date = 24 May 2010 |accessdate= 9 January 2011 |work=The Times |location=London}}</ref> both dates according to ''[[The Times]]''. One report noted he was asked to leave Royal Free Hospital in 2001 after he did not fulfill a request to duplicate the findings in his controversial ''The Lancet'' paper.<ref name=Dominus/>

Wakefield subsequently helped establish and served as the executive director of [[Thoughtful House Center for Children]], which studies autism in [[Austin, Texas]], where, according to ''The Times'', he "continued to promote the theory of a link between the MMR vaccine and autism, despite admitting it was 'not proved'."<ref name=TimesProfile/> He resigned from Thoughtful House in February 2010, after the British [[General Medical Council]] found that he had been "dishonest and irresponsible" in conducting his earlier autism research in England.<ref name=RossStarFraudulent/><ref name="thoughtful-house-resignation">{{cite news | work = [[Austin American-Statesman]] | title = British doctor resigns as head of Austin autism center | author=Roser, Mary Ann | date = 18 February 2010 | accessdate= 1 April 2010| url = http://www.statesman.com/news/local/british-doctor-resigns-as-head-of-austin-autism-251756.html| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100312134206/http://www.statesman.com/news/local/british-doctor-resigns-as-head-of-austin-autism-251756.html| archivedate= 12 March 2010 | deadurl= no}}</ref> ''The Times'' reported in May 2010 that he was a medical advisor for [[Visceral (UK charity)|Visceral]], a UK charity that "researches bowel disease and developmental disorders".<ref name=TimesProfile/>

Wakefield is barred from practising as a physician in the UK,<ref name=MeikleBoseley/> and is not licensed in the US.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5728998.ece |title= MMR scare doctor Andrew Wakefield makes fortune in US |work=The Times|date= 14 February 2009 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20100602022723/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5728998.ece|archivedate=2 June 2010 |author = Bone, James and David Rose |location=London}}</ref> He lives in the US where he has a following, including celebrity [[Jenny McCarthy]],<ref name=NYTOther/> who wrote the foreword for Wakefield's autobiography, ''Callous Disregard''. She mistakenly believes her son has autism and that it is due to vaccines.<ref name=Time>{{cite news |url= http://healthland.time.com/2011/01/06/study-linking-vaccines-to-autism-is-fraudulent/ |title= Study linking vaccines to autism is 'fraudulent' |work= [[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date= 6 January 2011 |accessdate= 7 January 2011| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20110113042913/http://healthland.time.com/2011/01/06/study-linking-vaccines-to-autism-is-fraudulent/| archivedate= 13 January 2011 | deadurl= no}}</ref> According to Deer, as of 2011, he lives near Austin with his wife, Carmel, and four children.<ref name=RossStarFraudulent/><ref name=AndrewWakefieldAutismInc>{{ cite news |url= http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/apr/06/what-happened-man-mmr-panic |title= Andrew Wakefield: autism inc |author=Alex Hannaford |work= [[The Guardian]] |date= 6 April 2013 |accessdate= 13 September 2013 }}</ref>

Wakefield has set up the non-profit Strategic Autism Initiative to commission studies into the condition and is currently listed as a director of a company called Medical Interventions for Autism and another called the Autism Media Channel.<ref name=AndrewWakefieldAutismInc />

== MMR controversy ==
{{Main|MMR vaccine controversy}}

On 28 February 1998, a paper written by Wakefield and twelve other authors about twelve [[autism spectrum|autistic]] children was published in ''The Lancet''.<ref name="WakefieldMMRPaper">{{cite journal |author=Wakefield AJ |title=Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children |journal=Lancet |volume=351 |issue=9103 |pages=637–41 |date= 28 February 1998 |pmid=9500320|url=http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673697110960/fulltext|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(97)11096-0 |author2=Murch SH |author3=Anthony A |last4=Linnell |first4=J |last5=Casson |first5=DM |last6=Malik |first6=M |last7=Berelowitz |first7=M |last8=Dhillon |first8=AP |last9=Thomson |first9=MA|display-authors=3 }}{{Retracted paper|intentional=yes}}</ref> In it, the authors claimed to have identified a new [[syndrome]] they called [[autistic enterocolitis]], raising the possibility of a link between a novel form of bowel disease, autism, and the MMR vaccine. The authors noted that the parents of eight of the twelve children linked what were described as "behavioural symptoms" with MMR, and reported that the onset of these symptoms began within two weeks of MMR vaccination.<ref name="WakefieldMMRPaper"/> In the published ''Lancet'' summary, known as the "interpretation", the authors wrote:

{{bq|1=We identified associated gastrointestinal disease and developmental regression in a group of previously normal children, which was generally associated in time with possible environmental triggers.<ref name="WakefieldMMRPaper"/>}}

These possible triggers were reported as MMR in eight cases, and measles infection in one. The paper was instantly controversial, leading to widespread publicity in the UK and the convening of a special panel of the UK's [[Medical Research Council (UK)|Medical Research Council]] the following month.<ref>{{cite web | title = Wakefield misled top UK medical research hearing over where he got MMR children (MRC documents) | author =Deer, Brian | date = 23 March 1998 | url = http://briandeer.com/mmr/wakefield-mrc.htm | accessdate = 10 August 2007 |publisher=briandeer.com | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070810191050/http://briandeer.com/mmr/wakefield-mrc.htm| archivedate= 10 August 2007 | deadurl= no}}</ref> One 2005 study done based in Japan found that there was no causal relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism in groups of children given the triple MMR vaccine and children who received individual measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations. In Japan, the MMR vaccine had been replaced with individual vaccinations in 1993.<ref name="HondaMMRPaper">{{cite journal |author=Honda H, Shimizu Y, Rutter M |journal=J Child Psychol Psychiatry |volume=46 |issue=6 |pages=572–9 |year=2005 |pmid=15877763|doi=10.1111/j.1469-7610.2005.01425.x |title=No effect of MMR withdrawal on the incidence of autism: a total population study}}</ref>

Although the paper said that no causal connection had been proven, before it was published, Wakefield made statements at a press conference and in a video news release issued by the hospital, calling for suspension of the triple MMR vaccine until more research could be done.<ref name=DeerInterview>{{cite web | title = Interview: Dr Andrew Wakefield, research team leader, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine | author = Deer, Brian| date = 4 February 1998 | url = http://briandeer.com/wakefield/royal-video.htm | accessdate = 10 August 2007 | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070711055354/http://briandeer.com/wakefield/royal-video.htm| archivedate= 11 July 2007 | deadurl= no}}</ref> This was later criticized as '[[science by press conference]]'.<ref name=EMBOreports>{{cite journal | author = Moore Andrew | year = 2006 | title = Bad science in the headlines: Who takes responsibility when science is distorted in the mass media? | url = http://www.nature.com/embor/journal/v7/n12/full/7400862.html | journal = [[EMBO reports]] | volume = 7 | issue = 12| pages = 1193–1196 | doi = 10.1038/sj.embor.7400862 }}</ref> According to BBC News, it was this press conference, rather than the paper in ''The Lancet'', that fuelled the MMR vaccination scare.<ref name=BBCMoral/> According to the BBC, "He told journalists it was a 'moral issue' and he could no longer support the continued use of the three-in-one jab for measles, mumps and rubella. 'Urgent further research is needed to determine whether MMR may give rise to this complication in a small number of people,' Dr Wakefield said at the time."<ref name=BBCMoral>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8481583.stm | date= 28 January 2010 |title= Wakefield and autism: the story that will not go away |publisher=BBC News |author= Triggle, Nick |accessdate= 9 January 2011| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20110203172245/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8481583.stm| archivedate= 3 February 2011 | deadurl= no}}</ref> He said, "If you give three viruses together, three live viruses, then you potentially increase the risk of an adverse event occurring, particularly when one of those viruses influences the immune system in the way that measles does."<ref name=DeerInterview/> He suggested parents should opt for single vaccinations against measles, mumps and rubella, separated by gaps of one year.

<!--The controversy escalated as the UK government declined to introduce single-jab alternatives (which would have required licenced products to become available), based on the contention most closely associated with Dr David Salisbury, UK director of immunisation, that the risk of prolonging the period before children were immunised against all three diseases was greater than any credible risk of harm from combining them. Single vaccines, spaced a year apart, would expose children to greater risk of infection, as well as additional distress and expense. He stated that no evidence had been produced upon which to adopt such a policy.-->
In December 2001, Wakefield resigned from the Royal Free Hospital, saying, "I have been asked to go because my research results are unpopular."<ref name="unpopular">{{cite news|author=Fraser, Lorraine |title=Anti-MMR doctor is forced out |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1364080/Anti-MMR-doctor-is-forced-out.html |work=The Daily Telegraph|date=2 December 2001 |accessdate=29 March 2009 | location=London}}</ref> The medical school said that he had left "by mutual agreement." In February 2002, Wakefield stated, "What precipitated this crisis was the removal of the single vaccine, the removal of choice, and that is what has caused the furore—because the doctors, the gurus, are treating the public as though they are some kind of moronic mass who cannot make an informed decision for themselves."<ref name=WhyIOwe>{{cite news | author = Wakefield, Andrew | title = Why I owe it to parents to question triple vaccine | work = [[Sunday Herald]] | date = 10 February 2002 | url = http://www.sundayherald.com/22194 | archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20030803151022/http://www.sundayherald.com/22194 | archivedate = 3 August 2003 | accessdate = 10 August 2007 }}</ref>

=== Aftermath of initial controversy ===

Wakefield continued conducting clinical research in the United States after leaving the [[Royal Free Hospital]] in December 2001. He joined a controversial American researcher, [[Jeff Bradstreet]], at the International Child Development Resource Center, to conduct further studies on the possible relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://briandeer.com/wakefield/wakefield-quack.htm |title=Brian Deer investigates MMR – Wakefield links |author=Deer, Brian |publisher=briandeer.com |accessdate=1 April 2010| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100505184934/http://briandeer.com/wakefield/wakefield-quack.htm| archivedate= 5 May 2010 | deadurl= no}}</ref>

In 2004, Wakefield started work at the [[Thoughtful House]] research center in Austin, Texas.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article4837798.ece | title = MMR row doctor Andrew Wakefield spreads fear to US |work=The Times | location=London | date=28 September 2008 | accessdate=25 April 2010 | author= Harlow, John}}</ref> Wakefield served as Executive Director of Thoughtful House until February 2010, when he resigned in the wake of findings against him by the British [[General Medical Council]].<ref name="thoughtful-house-resignation"/><ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/feb/19/wakefield-quits-texas-autism-centre | title = MMR vaccine doctor Andrew Wakefield quits autism centre |work=The Guardian | date = 19 February 2010 | location=London | author= Jones, Aidan | accessdate=25 April 2010| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100407154235/http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/feb/19/wakefield-quits-texas-autism-centre| archivedate= 7 April 2010 | deadurl= no}}</ref>

In February 2004, controversy resurfaced when Wakefield was accused of a conflict of interest. The ''[[The Sunday Times (UK)|Sunday Times]]'' reported that some of the parents of the 12 children in the study in ''The Lancet'' were recruited via a UK lawyer preparing a lawsuit against MMR manufacturers, and that the Royal Free Hospital had received £55,000 from the UK's Legal Aid Board (now the [[Legal Services Commission]]) to pay for the research.<ref>{{cite news | author = Deer, Brian | title = Revealed: MMR Research Scandal |work=The Sunday Times| publisher= briandeer.com |date = 22 February 2004 | url = http://briandeer.com/mmr/lancet-deer-1.htm | format = Reprint | accessdate = 10 August 2007 | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070808103704/http://briandeer.com/mmr/lancet-deer-1.htm| archivedate= 8 August 2007 | deadurl= no}}</ref> Previously, in October 2003, the board had cut off public funding for the litigation against MMR manufacturers.<ref>{{cite web | title = Taxpayer cash for MMR action is stopped after £15m that stoked fear was spent | author = Deer, Brian | publisher= briandeer.com | url = http://briandeer.com/mmr/lancet-lsc.htm | accessdate = 10 August 2007 | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070810191523/http://briandeer.com/mmr/lancet-lsc.htm| archivedate= 10 August 2007 | deadurl= no}}</ref> Following an investigation of ''The Sunday Times'' allegations by the UK General Medical Council, Wakefield was charged with serious professional misconduct, including dishonesty.<ref>{{cite news | author = Deer, Brian | title = MMR Scare Doctor Faces List of Charges |work=The Sunday Times |location= London | date = 11 September 2005 | url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article565188.ece | accessdate = 29 March 2009 }}</ref> In December 2006, the ''Sunday Times'' further reported that in addition to the money they gave the Royal Free Hospital, the lawyers responsible for the MMR lawsuit had paid Wakefield personally more than £400,000, which he had not previously disclosed.<ref name="MMRAidMoney">{{cite news | author = Deer, Brian | title = MMR doctor given legal aid thousands |work=The Times | date = 31 December 2006 | url = http://briandeer.com/mmr/st-dec-2006.htm | accessdate = 10 August 2007 | location=London}}</ref>

Twenty-four hours before the 2004 ''Sunday Times'' report, ''The Lancet'' responded to the investigation in a public statement, describing Wakefield's research as "fatally flawed". ''The Lancet's'' editor said he believed the paper would have been rejected as biased if the peer reviewers had been aware of Wakefield's conflict of interest.<ref name="bbc-02-2004">{{cite news | title = Lead researcher defends MMR study |publisher=BBC News | date = 22 February 2004 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3510721.stm | accessdate = 10 August 2007 }}</ref> Ten of Wakefield's twelve co-authors of the paper in ''The Lancet'' later published a retraction of an interpretation:<ref name=PMID15016483>{{cite journal |author=Murch SH |title=Retraction of an interpretation |journal=Lancet |volume=363 |issue=9411 |page=750 |year=2004 |pmid=15016483 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(04)15715-2 |author2=Anthony A |author3=Casson DH |last4=Malik |first4=Mohsin |last5=Berelowitz |first5=Mark |last6=Dhillon |first6=Amar P |last7=Thomson |first7=Michael A |last8=Valentine |first8=Alan |last9=Davies |first9=Susan E|display-authors=3 }}</ref> The section of the paper retracted read as follows:

{{bq|1=Interpretation. We identified associated gastrointestinal disease and developmental regression in a group of previously normal children, which was generally associated in time with possible environmental triggers.}}

The retraction stated:<ref name=PMID15016483/>

{{bq|1=We wish to make it clear that in this paper no causal link was established between (the) vaccine and autism, as the data were insufficient. However the possibility of such a link was raised, and consequent events have had major implications for public health. In view of this, we consider now is the appropriate time that we should together formally retract the interpretation placed upon these findings in the paper, according to precedent.<ref>{{cite news | author = Ross, Emma | title = Scientists retract interpretation of research linking vaccine with autism | agency = Associated Press |publisher= briandeer.com | date = 3 March 2004 | url = http://briandeer.com/mmr/lancet-retraction.htm | format = Reprint | accessdate = 10 August 2007 | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070811220948/http://briandeer.com/mmr/lancet-retraction.htm| archivedate= 11 August 2007 | deadurl= no}}</ref>}}

=== Wakefield v Channel 4 and others ===

In November 2004, [[Channel 4]] broadcast a one-hour ''[[Dispatches (TV series)|Dispatches]]'' investigation by reporter [[Brian Deer]]; the ''Toronto Star'' said Deer had "produced documentary evidence that Wakefield applied for a patent on a single-jab measles vaccine before his campaign against the MMR vaccine, raising questions about his motives".<ref name=RossStarFraudulent/><ref name=patent>{{cite web | title = Revealed: the first Wakefield MMR patent claim describes "safer measles vaccine" | author = Deer, Brian| url = http://briandeer.com/wakefield/vaccine-patent.htm | publisher= briandeer.com | accessdate = 10 August 2007 | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070809105007/http://briandeer.com/wakefield/vaccine-patent.htm| archivedate= 9 August 2007 | deadurl= no}}</ref><ref>[http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6534259.pdf Vaccine patent application]</ref>

In addition to Wakefield's unpublished initial patent submission,<ref name=patent/> Deer released a copy of the published patent application.<ref>{{cite web | title = UK Patent Application GB 2 325 856 A | url = http://briandeer.com/mmr/1998-vaccine-patent.pdf}}</ref> At page 1, the first paragraph of this stated:

{{bq|1=The present invention relates to a new vaccine/immunisation for the prevention and/or prophylaxis against measles virus infection and to a pharmaceutical or therapeutic composition for the treatment of IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease); particularly Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis and regressive behavioural disease (RBD) (also referred to as "Pervasive Developmental Disorder).}}

Before describing the research in Wakefield's 1998 paper in ''The Lancet'', at the same page this patent explicitly states that the use of the MMR vaccine causes autism:

{{bq|1=It has now also been shown that use of the MMR vaccine (which is taken to include live attenuated measles vaccine virus, measles virus, mumps vaccine virus and rubella vaccine virus, and wild strains of the aforementioned viruses) results in ileal lymphoid nodular hyperplasia, chronic colitis and pervasive developmental disorder including autism (RBD), in some infants.}}

According to Deer, a letter from Wakefield's lawyers to him dated 31 January 2005 said: "Dr Wakefield did not plan a rival vaccine."<!-- See bottom of patent copy. --><ref name=patent/>

In the Dispatches programme, Deer also revealed that Nicholas Chadwick, a researcher working under Wakefield's supervision in the Royal Free medical school, had failed to find measles virus in the children reported on in ''The Lancet''.<ref>{{cite web | title = Molecular testing in Wakefield's own lab rebutted the basis for his attack on MMR | author = Deer, Brian | url = http://briandeer.com/wakefield/nick-chadwick.htm | publisher= briandeer.com | accessdate = 10 August 2007 | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070809174125/http://briandeer.com/wakefield/nick-chadwick.htm| archivedate= 9 August 2007 | deadurl= no}}</ref>

In January 2005, Wakefield initiated libel proceedings against Channel&nbsp;4, the independent production company [[Twenty Twenty]] and Brian Deer, ''The Sunday Times'', and against Deer personally along with his website briandeer.com.<ref name="briandeer.com">{{cite web|url=http://briandeer.com/ |title=Selected Investigations & Journalism |publisher=Brian Deer |date=31 January 2011 |accessdate=26 April 2013}}</ref> Within weeks of issuing his claims, however, Wakefield sought to have the action frozen until after the conclusion of General Medical Council proceedings against him. Channel&nbsp;4 and Deer sought a High Court order compelling Wakefield to continue with his action, or discontinue it. After a hearing on 27 and 28 October 2005, Mr Justice [[David Eady]] ruled against a [[stay of proceedings]]:

{{bq|1=It thus appears that the Claimant wishes to use the existence of the libel proceedings for public relations purposes, and to deter other critics, while at the same time isolating himself from the "downside" of such litigation, in having to answer a substantial defence of justification ... I am quite satisfied, therefore, that the Claimant wished to extract whatever advantage he could from the existence of the proceedings while not wishing to progress them or to give the Defendants an opportunity of meeting the claims.<ref name=Judgment>{{cite web | title = Approved Judgment in the case of Andrew Wakefield vs. Channel Four Television Corporation, Twenty Twenty Productions Ltd., and Brian Deer | publisher = [[BAILII|British and Irish Legal Information Institute]] | date = 4 November 2005 | url = http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2005/2410.html | accessdate = 10 August 2007 }}</ref>}}

The judgment identified Channel&nbsp;4's "very lengthy extracts" summarizing Deer's allegations against Wakefield:<ref name=Judgment/>

:(i) [Wakefield] spread fear that the MMR vaccine might lead to autism, even though he knew that his own laboratory had carried out tests whose results dramatically contradicted his claims in that the measles virus had not been found in a single one of the children concerned in his study and he knew or ought to have known that there was absolutely no basis at all for his belief that the MMR should be broken up into single vaccines.

:(ii) In spreading such fear, acted dishonestly and for mercenary motives in that, although he improperly failed to disclose the fact, he planned a rival vaccine and products (such as a diagnostic kit based on his theory) that could have made his fortune

:(iii) Gravely abused the children under his care by unethically carrying out extensive invasive procedures (on occasions requiring three people to hold a child down), thereby driving nurses to leave and causing his medical colleagues serious concern and unhappiness

:(iv) Improperly and/or dishonestly failed to disclose to his colleagues and to the public that his research on autistic children had begun with a contract with solicitors who were trying to sue the manufacturers of the MMR vaccine

:(v) Improperly or dishonestly lent his reputation to the International Child Development Resource Centre, which promoted to very vulnerable parents expensive products for whose efficacy (as he knew or should have known) there was no scientific evidence

Mr. Justice Eady's ruling states that, "The views or conclusions of the GMC disciplinary body would not, so far as I can tell, be relevant or admissible," that Channel 4's allegations "...go to undermine fundamentally the Claimant's professional integrity and honesty," and that, "It cannot seriously be suggested that priority should be given to GMC proceedings for the resolution of issues."

In December 2006, Deer released records obtained from the Legal Services Commission, showing that it had paid £435,643 in undisclosed fees to Wakefield for the purpose of building a case against the MMR vaccine.<ref>{{cite web | title = Revealed: undisclosed payments to Andrew Wakefield at the heart of vaccine alarm | author = Deer, Brian| url = http://briandeer.com/wakefield/legal-aid.htm |publisher= briandeer.com | accessdate = 10 August 2007 | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070821211233/http://briandeer.com/wakefield/legal-aid.htm| archivedate= 21 August 2007 | deadurl= no}}</ref> Those payments, ''The Sunday Times'' reported, had begun two years before publication of Wakefield's paper in ''The Lancet''.<ref name="MMRAidMoney"/> Within days of Deer's report, Wakefield dropped all his libel actions<ref>{{cite web |url = http://briandeer.com/wakefield/lawsuit-discontinues.htm |title = Wakefield drops libel claim over Channel 4 investigation, and agrees to pay costs |accessdate = 21 October 2009 |author= Deer, Brian |publisher= briandeer.com | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20091114154127/http://briandeer.com/wakefield/lawsuit-discontinues.htm| archivedate= 14 November 2009 | deadurl= no}}</ref> and was ordered to pay all defendants' legal costs.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=36663|title=MMR Doc drops libel case versus Channel Four |work=Press Gazette |date= 26 January 2007 |accessdate= 6 January 2011}}</ref><ref name=BMJ.com>{{cite journal |author=Dyer C |title=Andrew Wakefield drops libel case against Channel 4 |journal=BMJ |volume=334 |issue=7584 |page=60 |date=January 2007 |pmid=17218681 |pmc=1767245 |doi=10.1136/bmj.39090.395509.DB }}</ref>

=== Other concerns ===

Other concerns regarding Wakefield were that an extension of his project caused life-threatening complications in one child, who received substantial compensation in an out-of-court settlement.<ref>{{cite news |author=Ellis, Rachel |title=£500,000 for boy left fighting for life after being used as MMR guinea pig|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-500611/500-000-boy-left-fighting-life-used-MMR-guinea-pig.html |work=Daily Mail |date=10 December 2007 |accessdate=29 March 2009 | location=London| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20090213083219/http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-500611/500-000-boy-left-fighting-life-used-MMR-guinea-pig.html| archivedate= 13 February 2009 | deadurl= no}}</ref> Wakefield's data were also questioned;<ref name="truth"/> a former graduate student, who appeared in Deer's programme, later testified that Wakefield ignored laboratory data that conflicted with his hypothesis. An independent investigation of a collaborating laboratory questioned the accuracy of the data underpinning Wakefield's claims.<ref name="newsweek">{{cite news |work=Newsweek | title = Anatomy of a Scare | date = 21 February 2009| accessdate = 28 January 2010| author= Begley, Sharon | url = http://www.newsweek.com/id/185853/page/1| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100208135234/http://www.newsweek.com/id/185853/page/1| archivedate= 8 February 2010 | deadurl= no}}</ref>

In June 2005, the [[BBC]] programme ''[[Horizon (BBC TV series)|Horizon]]'' reported on an unnamed and unpublished study of blood samples from a group of 100 autistic children and 200 children without autism. They reported finding 99% of the samples contained no trace of the measles virus, and the samples that did contain the virus were just as likely to be from non-autistic children, i.e., only three samples contained the measles virus, one from an autistic child and two from a normal child. The study's authors found no evidence of any link between MMR and autism.<ref>{{cite news | title = Does the MMR Jab Cause Autism? The latest scientific evidence | publisher = BBC Horizon | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/mmr_prog_summary.shtml | accessdate = 10 August 2007 }}</ref>

The [[Institute of Medicine]] (IOM) of the [[United States National Academy of Sciences]],<ref>{{cite book | author = Immunization Safety Review Committee | title = Immunization Safety Review: Vaccines and Autism | year = 2004 | publisher = Institute of Medicine | accessdate = 10 August 2007 |url=http://www.iom.edu/reports/2004/immunization-safety-review-vaccines-and-autism.aspx| isbn = 0-309-53275-2}}</ref> along with the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|CDC]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/Vaccines/MMR/MMR.html |title= Measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine |date=15 May 2010 |accessdate=8 January 2011 |publisher= Centers for Disease Control and Prevention}}</ref> and the UK [[National Health Service]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/MMR/Pages/FAQs.aspx#autismrisk |accessdate=8 January 2011 |year=2009 |title= MMR – FAQs |publisher= National Health Service}}</ref> have found no link between vaccines and autism. Reviews in the medical literature have also found no link between the MMR vaccine and autism or with bowel disease, which Wakefield called "[[autistic enterocolitis]]."<ref>{{cite journal | author=Jefferson T, Price D, Demicheli V, Bianco E | title=Unintended events following immunization with MMR: a systematic review | journal=Vaccine | year=2003 | pages=3954–60 | volume=21 | issue=25–26 | pmid=12922131 | doi=10.1016/S0264-410X(03)00271-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author= Gerber JS, Offit PA |title= Vaccines and Autism: A Tale of Shifting Hypotheses |journal= Clin Infect Dis |volume=48 |issue=4 |pages=456–61 |year=2009 |pmid=19128068 |pmc= 2908388 |doi=10.1086/596476 |url=http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/596476 |laysummary=http://www.csicop.org/si/show/more_studies_reject_vaccine-autism_link/ |laysource=[[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]] |laydate=2009-01-30}}{{dead link|date=September 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Demicheli V, Rivetti A, Debalini MG, Di Pietrantonj C |title=Vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella in children |journal=Cochrane Database Syst Rev |volume=2 |pages=CD004407 |year=2012 |pmid=22336803 |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD004407.pub3}}</ref>

== General Medical Council hearings ==

Between July 2007 and May 2010, a 217-day "fitness to practise" hearing of the UK General Medical Council examined charges of [[Medical ethics|professional misconduct]] against Wakefield and two colleagues involved in the paper in ''The Lancet''.<ref name=MMRScare>{{cite news | title = MMR scare doctor 'paid children' |publisher=BBC News | date = 16 July 2007 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6289166.stm | accessdate = 10 August 2007 | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070818102609/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6289166.stm| archivedate= 18 August 2007 | deadurl= no}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release | author = General Medical Council Press Office | title = Dr Andrew Wakefield, Professor John Walker-Smith, Professor Simon Murch: Fitness to Practise Hearings | publisher = General Medical Council press office | date = 8 October 2007 | url = http://www.gmcpressoffice.org.uk/apps/news/events/detail.php?key=1970 | archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20071027142725/http://www.gmcpressoffice.org.uk/apps/news/events/detail.php?key=1970 | archivedate = 27 October 2007 }}</ref> The charges included that he:
* "Was being paid to conduct the study by solicitors representing parents who believed their children had been harmed by MMR".<ref name=MMRScare/>
* Ordered investigations "without the requisite paediatric qualifications" including [[colonoscopy|colonoscopies]], colon biopsies and [[lumbar puncture]]s ("spinal taps") on his research subjects without the approval of his department's [[institutional review board|ethics board]] and contrary to the children's clinical interests,<ref name=MMRScare/> when these diagnostic tests were not indicated by the children's symptoms or medical history.
* "Act[ed] 'dishonestly and irresponsibly' in failing to disclose ... how patients were recruited for the study".<ref name=MMRScare/>
* "Conduct[ed] the study on a basis not approved by the hospital's ethics committee."<ref name=MMRScare/>
* Purchased blood samples—for £5 each—from children present at his son's birthday party, which Wakefield joked about in a later presentation.<ref name=MMRScare/>
* "[S]howed callous disregard for any distress or pain the children might suffer"<ref name=gmc-uk_Wakefield_SPM/>

Wakefield denied the charges;<ref>{{cite news|publisher=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7314144.stm|title=MMR doctor to begin his defence|date=27 March 2008|accessdate=5 January 2011}}</ref> on 28 January 2010, the GMC ruled against Wakefield on all issues, stating that he had "failed in his duties as a responsible consultant",<ref name="YEP GMC result"/> acted against the interests of his patients,<ref name="YEP GMC result"/> and "dishonestly and irresponsibly" in his controversial research.<ref name="BBC GMC result"/> On 24 May 2010 he was struck off the United Kingdom medical register. It was the harshest sanction that the GMC could impose, and effectively ended his career as a doctor. In announcing the ruling, the GMC said that Wakefield had "brought the medical profession into disrepute," and no sanction short of erasing his name from the register was appropriate for the "serious and wide-ranging findings" of misconduct.<ref name=MeikleBoseley/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8695267.stm |title=MMR doctor struck off register |author=Triggle, Nick |date=24 May 2010|publisher=[[BBC Online]] |accessdate=24 May 2010 |work=BBC News| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100526020901/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8695267.stm| archivedate= 26 May 2010 | deadurl= no}}</ref> On the same day, Wakefield's autobiography, ''Callous Disregard'' was published, using the same words as one of the charges against him ("he showed callous disregard for any distress or pain the children might suffer").<ref name=gmc-uk_Wakefield_SPM/> It argued that he had been unfairly treated by the medical and scientific establishment.<ref>{{cite book | title=Callous Disregard |author=Wakefield, Andrew J | isbn=1-61608-169-4|publisher=Skyhorse Publishing|date=24 May 2010}}</ref>

== Fraud and conflict of interest allegations ==

In February 2009, ''The Sunday Times'' reported that a further investigation by the newspaper had revealed that Wakefield "changed and misreported results in his research, creating the appearance of a possible link with autism",<ref name=Deer2009>{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5683671.ece |title= MMR doctor Andrew Wakefield fixed data on autism |author= Deer Brian|work=The Sunday Times |date=8 February 2009 |accessdate=9 February 2009 | location=London| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20090208234919/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5683671.ece| archivedate= 8 February 2009 | deadurl= no}}</ref> citing evidence obtained by the newspaper from medical records and interviews with witnesses, and supported by evidence presented to the GMC.

In April 2010, Deer expanded on laboratory aspects of his findings in a report in the ''[[BMJ]]'', recounting how normal clinical [[histopathology]] results (obtained from the Royal Free hospital) had been subjected to wholesale changes, from normal to abnormal, in the medical school and published in ''The Lancet''.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Deer B |title=Wakefield's "autistic enterocolitis" under the microscope |journal=BMJ |volume=340 |page= c1127|date= 15 April 2010 |pmid=20395277 |doi= 10.1136/bmj.c1127 |url=http://www.bmj.com/content/340/bmj.c1127.long}}</ref> On 2 January 2011, Deer provided two tables comparing the data on the twelve children, showing the original hospital data and the data with the wholesale changes as used in the 1998 ''The Lancet'' article.<ref name=Deer_tables>[http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.c5347#T1<!--http://www.bmj.com/content/suppl/2011/01/05/bmj.c5347.DC1/deeb200710.ww1_default.pdf {{dead link|date=March 2012}}--> "MMR & Autism: Fixing a Link"], Tables prepared by Brian Deer as a supplement to his peer reviewed report "How the case against the MMR vaccine was fixed", published in the BMJ in January 2011 (BMJ 2011;342:c5347). [http://briandeer.com/solved/bmj-deer-mmr-tables.pdf alt source] ([http://www.webcitation.org/66XpKRNZu archive (at anchor #T1)])</ref>

On 5 January 2011, ''BMJ'' published an article by Brian Deer entitled "How the case against the MMR vaccine was fixed".<ref name=HowTheCase/> Deer, funded by ''The Sunday Times'' of London and Channel 4 television network, said that, based on examination of the medical records of the 12 children in the original study, his research had found:<ref name=HowTheCase>{{cite journal | title=How the case against the MMR vaccine was fixed| author=Deer B| journal=BMJ |date= 5 January 2011 |publisher= BMJ | volume=342 | pmid=21209059| pages=c5347| url=http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.c5347.full |doi= 10.1136/bmj.c5347}}</ref>

{{quotation|The paper in ''The Lancet'' was a case series of 12 child patients; it reported a proposed "new syndrome" of enterocolitis and regressive autism and associated this with MMR as an "apparent precipitating event." But in fact:

: Three of nine children reported with regressive autism did not have autism diagnosed at all. Only one child clearly had regressive autism;

: Despite the paper claiming that all 12 children were "previously normal", five had documented pre-existing developmental concerns;

: Some children were reported to have experienced first behavioural symptoms within days of MMR, but the records documented these as starting some months after vaccination;

: In nine cases, unremarkable colonic histopathology results—noting no or minimal fluctuations in inflammatory cell populations—were changed after a medical school "research review" to "non-specific colitis";

: The parents of eight children were reported as blaming MMR, but 11 families made this allegation at the hospital. The exclusion of three allegations—all giving times to onset of problems in months—helped to create the appearance of a 14 day temporal link;

: Patients were recruited through anti-MMR campaigners, and the study was commissioned and funded for planned litigation.<ref name=HowTheCase/>}}

In an accompanying editorial, ''BMJ'' editors said:

{{bq|1=Clear evidence of falsification of data should now close the door on this damaging vaccine scare ... Who perpetrated this fraud? There is no doubt that it was Wakefield. Is it possible that he was wrong, but not dishonest: that he was so incompetent that he was unable to fairly describe the project, or to report even one of the 12 children's cases accurately? No. A great deal of thought and effort must have gone into drafting the paper to achieve the results he wanted: the discrepancies all led in one direction; misreporting was gross. Moreover, although the scale of the GMC's 217 day hearing precluded additional charges focused directly on the fraud, the panel found him guilty of dishonesty concerning the study's admissions criteria, its funding by the Legal Aid Board, and his statements about it afterwards.<ref name=WakefieldarticleBMJ/>}}

In a ''BMJ'' follow-up article on 11 January 2011,<ref name=HowMakeMoney>{{cite journal |journal= BMJ |date= 11 January 2011 |page= c5258 |volume= 342 |doi= 10.1136/bmj.c5258 |title= How the vaccine crisis was meant to make money |author=Deer B |url= http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.c5258.full}}</ref> Deer said that based upon documents he obtained under [[Freedom of information legislation]],<ref name=WakefieldCapitalize>{{cite news|url= http://voices.washingtonpost.com/checkup/2011/01/wakefield_tried_to_capitalize.html | title= Wakefield tried to capitalize on autism-vaccine link, report says |author= Stein, Rob |date= 11 January 2011 |work= The Washington Post |accessdate= 12 January 2011}}</ref> Wakefield—in partnership with the father of one of the boys in the study—had planned to launch a venture on the back of an MMR vaccination scare that would profit from new medical tests and "litigation driven testing".<ref name=AuthorHeld>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/01/11/autism.vaccines/?hpt=Sbin |title= Vaccine study's author held related patent, medical journal reports| publisher= CNN |date= 11 January 2011 |accessdate= 12 January 2011}}</ref><ref name=patent/> ''The Washington Post'' reported that Deer said that Wakefield predicted he "could make more than $43 million a year from diagnostic kits" for the new condition, [[autistic enterocolitis]].<ref name=WakefieldCapitalize/> According to Deer's report in ''BMJ'', the ventures, Immunospecifics Biotechnologies Ltd and Carmel Healthcare Ltd—named after Wakefield's wife—failed after Wakefield's superiors at University College London's medical school gave him a two-page letter that said:

<blockquote>We remain concerned about a possible serious conflict of interest between your academic employment by UCL, and your involvement with Carmel ... This concern arose originally because the company's business plan appears to depend on premature, scientifically unjustified publication of results, which do not conform to the rigorous academic and scientific standards that are generally expected.<ref name=HowMakeMoney/></blockquote>

[[WebMD]] reported on Deer's ''BMJ'' report, saying that the $43 million predicted yearly profits would come from marketing kits for "diagnosing patients with autism" and that "the initial market for the diagnostic will be litigation-driven testing of patients with AE [autistic enterocolitis, an unproven condition concocted by Wakefield] from both the UK and the US".<ref name=DoctorPlanned>{{cite web |url= http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/news/20110111/mmr-doctor-planned-make-millions-journal-claims |title= MMR Doctor 'Planned to Make Millions,' Journal Claims |author= Russell, Peter |publisher= WebMD Health News |date= 11 January 2011 |accessdate= 12 January 2011}}</ref> According to WebMD, the ''BMJ'' article also claimed that Carmel Healthcare Ltd would succeed in marketing products and developing a replacement vaccine if "public confidence in the MMR vaccine was damaged".<ref name=DoctorPlanned/>

In October 2012, research published in PNAS, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, identified Wakefield's 1998 paper as the most cited retracted scientific paper, with 758 citations, and gave the "reason for retraction" as "fraud".<ref name=retractions>{{cite journal |author=Fang FC |title=Misconduct accounts for the majority of retracted scientific publications |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=October 2012 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1212247109 |author2=Steen RG |author3=Casadevall A }}</ref>

=== Journal retractions ===

On 2 February 2010, ''The Lancet'' formally retracted Wakefield's 1998 paper.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/health/research/03lancet.html |title= Journal Retracts 1998 Paper Linking Autism to Vaccines |work= The New York Times |date= 2 February 2010 |accessdate= 6 January 2011 |first=Gardiner |last=Harris| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20101201165958/http://www10.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/health/research/03lancet.html| archivedate= 1 December 2010 | deadurl= no}}</ref><ref name=CNNLancetRetraction>{{cite news |url= http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/02/lancet.retraction.autism/index.html?section=cnn_latest |title= Medical journal retracts study linking autism to vaccine|publisher= CNN |date= 2 February 2010 |accessdate= 2 February 2010}}</ref> The retraction states that, "The claims in the original paper that children were 'consecutively referred' and that investigations were 'approved' by the local ethics committee have been proven to be false."<ref name="retraction" />

The following day the editor of a specialist journal, ''[[Neurotoxicology (journal)|Neurotoxicology]]'', withdrew another Wakefield paper that was in press. The article, which concerned research on monkeys, had already been published online and sought to implicate vaccines in autism.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Hewitson L |title=WITHDRAWN: Delayed acquisition of neonatal reflexes in newborn primates receiving a thimerosal-containing Hepatitis B vaccine: Influence of gestational age and birth weight |journal=Neurotoxicology |date=October 2009 |pmid=19800915 |doi=10.1016/j.neuro.2009.09.008 |author2=Houser LA |author3=Stott C |last4=Sackett |first4=Gene |last5=Tomko |first5=Jaime L. |last6=Atwood |first6=David |last7=Blue |first7=Lisa |last8=White |first8=E. Railey |last9=Wakefield |first9=Andrew J.|display-authors=3 }}</ref>

In May 2010, ''[[The American Journal of Gastroenterology]]'' retracted a paper of Wakefield's that used data from the 12 patients of the article in ''The Lancet''.<ref>{{cite journal |doi= 10.1038/ajg.2010.149 |title= Retraction: Enterocolitis in Children With Developmental Disorders |year=2010 | author=Wakefield AJ |journal=[[The American Journal of Gastroenterology]] |volume=105 |page=1214 |issue=5 |author2= Anthony A |author3= Murch SH |last4= Thomson |first4= M |last5= Montgomery |first5= S M |last6= Davies |first6= S |last7= O'Leary |first7= J J |last8= Berelowitz |first8= M |last9= Walker-Smith |first9= J A|display-authors= 3 }}</ref>

On 5 January 2011, ''BMJ'' editors recommended that Wakefield's other publications should be scrutinized and retracted if need be.<ref name=NYTOther>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/01/05/health/AP-EU-MED-Autism-Fraud.html?|title=Study Linking Vaccine to Autism Was Fraud, Journal Reports|newspaper=The New York Times|date=6 January 2011|accessdate=6 January 2011|agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

=== Wakefield response ===

As of January 2011, Wakefield continued to maintain his innocence. In a press release, he stated,
{{bq|1=I want to make one thing crystal clear for the record—my research and the serious medical problems found in those children were not a hoax and there was no fraud whatsoever. Nor did I seek to profit from our findings&nbsp;... despite media reports to the contrary, the results of my research have been duplicated in five other countries ... I continue to fully support more independent research to determine if environmental triggers, including vaccines, are causing autism and other developmental problems&nbsp;... Since the Lancet [sic] paper, I have lost my job, my career and my country. To claim that my motivation was profit is patently untrue. I will not be deterred—this issue is far too important.<ref name=WakefieldStatement>{{cite press release |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/statement-from-dr-andrew-wakefield--no-fraud-no-hoax-no-profit-motive-113454389.html |title= Statement From Dr. Andrew Wakefield: No Fraud. No Hoax. No Profit Motive. |date= 13 January 2011 |accessdate= 13 January 2011 |publisher= PRNewswire |work= PharmaLive.com}}</ref>}}

In an internet radio interview, Wakefield said the ''BMJ'' series "was utter nonsense" and denied "that he used the cases of the 12 children in his study to promote his business venture".<ref name=AuthorHeld/> Although Deer is funded by ''The Sunday Times'' and Channel 4, he has filed financial disclosure forms and denies receiving any funding from the pharmaceutical industry, which Wakefield says is paying him.<ref name=AuthorHeld/> According to CNN, Wakefield said the patent he held was for "an 'over-the-counter nutritional supplement' that boosts the immune system".<ref name=AuthorHeld/> WebMD reported that Wakefield said he was the victim of "a ruthless, pragmatic attempt to crush any attempt to investigate valid vaccine safety concerns".<ref name=DoctorPlanned/>

Wakefield claims that Deer is a "hit man who was brought in to take [him] down" and that other scientists have simply taken Deer at his word. While on ''[[Anderson Cooper 360°]]'', claiming he had not read the ''BMJ'' articles yet, he denied their validity and denied that Deer had interviewed the families of the children in the study. He also urged viewers to read his book, ''Callous Disregard'', which he claimed would explain why he was being targeted, to which [[Anderson Cooper]] replied: "But sir, if you're lying, then your book is also a lie. If your study is a lie, your book is a lie."<ref name=Dominus/><ref>{{cite video | people = [[Anderson Cooper]] (interviewer), Andrew Wakefield (interviewee) | date = 6 January 2011 | title = Autism-vaccine study author defends work | publisher = CNN | url = http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20027552-10391704.html}}</ref>

Wakefield later implied that there is a [[Cabal|conspiracy]] by [[public health]] officials and [[pharmaceutical companies]] to discredit him, including suggesting they pay bloggers to post rumours about him on websites or that they artificially inflated reports of deaths from measles.<ref name=Dominus/>

=== Deer counter-response ===

Deer responded to Wakefield's charge by challenging Wakefield to sue him:
{{bq|1=If it is true that Andrew Wakefield is not guilty as charged, he has the remedy of bringing a libel action against myself, the ''Sunday Times of London'', against the medical journal here, and he would be the richest man in America.<ref name=CNNElaborateFraud/>}}
Deer noted that all of Wakefield's previous libel actions had been dismissed or withdrawn.<ref name=Judgment/><ref name=CNNElaborateFraud/>

In January 2012 Wakefield filed a defamation lawsuit in Texas state court against Deer, Fiona Godlee, and the ''BMJ'' for false accusations of fraud, seeking a jury trial in [[Travis County]]. The filing identified Wakefield as a resident of Austin,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.statesman.com/news/local/doctor-who-did-autism-research-in-austin-sues-2085868.html |title=Doctor who did autism research in Austin sues medical journal, writers |work=Austin American-Statesman |date=6 January 2012 |publisher=Statesman.com |accessdate=26 April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/01/04/BritMedJ.pdf |title=Wakefield v. British Medical Journal, Deer, Godlee (Travis County, Texas, 3 Jan 2012) |format=PDF |accessdate=26 April 2013}}</ref> and cited the "[[Long arm jurisdiction|Texas Long-Arm Statute]]" as justification for initiating the proceeding in Texas. The journal responded that it stood by its reports and would "defend the claim vigorously".<ref>{{cite news |author=John Gever|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Health/AutismCommunity/doctor-claimed-vaccine-autism-link-sues-critics/story?id=15306948 |title=Doctor Who Claimed Vaccine-Autism Link Sues Critics |publisher=Abcnews.go.com |date=6 January 2012 |accessdate=26 April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Ian Sample, science correspondent |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/jan/05/andrew-wakefield-sues-bmj-mmr |title=Andrew Wakefield sues BMJ for claiming MMR study was fraudulent |publisher=Guardian |accessdate=26 April 2013 |location=London |date=5 January 2012}}</ref> In August 2012 District Court Judge Amy Meachum dismissed Wakefield's suit.<ref name=slapp_dismissed>{{cite web |url= http://www.briandeer.com/solved/slapp-jurisdiction-dismissed.pdf |title= 201st District Court of Travis County, Texas, Order |date= 3 August 2012 |accessdate= 3 August 2012}}</ref><ref name=Roser>{{cite news |url= http://www.statesman.com/news/local/wakefield-former-autism-researcher-cant-sue-for-defamation-2427655.html |title= Wakefield, former autism researcher, can't sue for defamation in Texas, judge says |date= 3 August 2012 |accessdate= 3 August 2012}}</ref><ref name=scienceblogs>{{cite web |url= http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2012/08/04/andrew-wakefield-dismissed/ |title= Andrew Wakefield’s libel suit against Brian Deer: Dismissed! |date= 3 August 2012 |accessdate= 3 August 2012}}</ref> Her ruling was upheld on appeal in September 2014 and Wakefield was ordered to pay all parties' costs.<ref name=Lindell>{{cite web |url= http://www.statesman.com/news/news/court-andrew-wakefield-autism-researcher-cannot-su/nhQhN/ |title= Court: Andrew Wakefield, autism researcher, cannot sue in Texas |date= 19 September 2014 |accessdate= 20 September 2014}}</ref><ref name=dismissed>{{cite web |url= http://www.search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=5e1e5f9a-7821-4448-8e69-ecba29e40567&coa=coa03&DT=Opinion&MediaID=fbb559e2-bede-49ed-8b34-e6f71b7650ce |title= Texas Court of Appeals, 3rd district, at Austin |date= 19 September 2014 |accessdate= 20 September 2014}}</ref>

On 5 April 2011, Deer was named the UK's specialist journalist of the year in the British Press Awards, organised by the Society of Editors. The judges said that his investigation of Wakefield was a "tremendous righting of a wrong".<ref name=pressawards>{{cite web |url= http://www.pressawards.org.uk/page-view.php?pagename=Specialist-Journalist-of-the-Year |title= The Press Awards, Specialist Journalist of the Year |date= 5 April 2011 |accessdate= 12 April 2011}}</ref>

== Epidemics, effects and reception ==
{{related|[[2013 Swansea measles epidemic]] and [[Measles outbreaks in the 21st century]]}}

Physicians, medical journals, and editors<ref name=BMJLiftsCurtain>{{cite web |url= http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/Autism/24203 |title= BMJ Lifts Curtain on MMR-Autism Fraud |author= Gever, John |publisher= MedPage Today |date= 5 January 2011 |accessdate= 8 January 2011}}</ref><ref name=GodleeEditorial>{{cite journal|url= http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.d22.full |title= The fraud behind the MMR scare |author= Godlee F |journal= BMJ |date=January 2011 |page= d22 |volume= 342 |doi= 10.1136/bmj.d22}}</ref><ref name=BMJBlogDeer>{{cite web |url= http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2011/01/06/brian-deer-piltdown-medicine-the-missing-link-between-mmr-and-autism/ |title= Brian Deer: Piltdown medicine: The missing link between MMR and autism |date= 6 January 2011 |publisher= BMJ Group Blogs |author =Deer, Brian |accessdate= 8 January 2011}}</ref><ref name=IBTimes>{{cite news |url= http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/98531/20110107/link-between-mmr-vaccines-and-autism-conclusively-broken.htm |title= Link between MMR Vaccines and Autism conclusively broken |work= [[IB Times]] |date= 7 January 2011 |accessdate= 8 January 2011}}</ref><ref name=WebMDBroyd>{{cite web |url= http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/news/20110106/bmj-declares-vaccine-autism-study-fraud |title= BMJ Declares Vaccine-Autism Study 'an Elaborate Fraud', 1998 Lancet Study Not Bad Science but Deliberate Fraud, Claims Journal |author= Broyd, Nicky |publisher= [[WebMD]] Health News |date= 6 January 2011 |accessdate =8 January 2011}}</ref> have made statements tying Wakefield's fraudulent actions to various epidemics and deaths.<ref name=Jasek>{{cite web |author= Jasek, Marissa |url= http://www.wwaytv3.com/healthwatch-disputed-autism-study-sparks-debate-about-vaccines/01/2011 |title= Healthwatch: Disputed autism study sparks debate about vaccines |publisher= WWAY Newschannel 3 |date = 6 January 2011 |accessdate= 7 January 2011}}</ref> Michael J. Smith, a professor of pediatrics at the [[University of Louisville]], an "infectious diseases expert who has studied the autism controversy's effect on immunization rates", said, "Clearly, the results of this [Wakefield] study have had repercussions."<ref name=APVaccineBooster>{{cite news |url= http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/articles/2011/01/06/will_autism_fraud_report_be_a_vaccine_booster/ |author=Stobbe, Mike |date= 7 January 2011 |title= Will autism fraud report be a vaccine booster? |agency= Associated Press |accessdate= 8 January 2011 |work=The Boston Globe}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Smith MJ, Ellenberg SS, Bell LM, Rubin DM |title=Media coverage of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and autism controversy and its relationship to MMR immunization rates in the United States |journal=[[Pediatrics (journal)|Pediatrics]] |volume=121 |issue=4 |pages=e836–43 |date=April 2008 |pmid=18381512 |doi=10.1542/peds.2007-1760 |url= http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/121/4/e836}}</ref>

The [[Associated Press]] said:

{{bq|1=Immunization rates in Britain dropped from 92 percent to 73 percent, and were as low as 50 percent in some parts of London. The effect was not nearly as dramatic in the United States, but researchers have estimated that as many as 125,000 US children born in the late 1990s did not get the MMR vaccine because of the Wakefield splash.<ref name=APVaccineBooster/>}}

[[ABC News]] Channel WWAY3 said:

{{bq|1=Since Dr. Andrew Wakefield's study was released in 1998, many parents have been convinced the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine could lead to autism. But that study may have done more harm than good. According to the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]], in the United States, more cases of measles were reported in 2008 than any year since 1997. More than 90 percent of those infected had not been vaccinated, or their vaccination status was not known.<ref name=Jasek/>}}

[[Paul Hébert]], editor-in-chief of the ''[[Canadian Medical Association Journal]]'' (CMAJ) said:

{{bq|1=There has been a huge impact from the Wakefield fiasco ... This spawned a whole anti-vaccine movement. Great Britain has seen measles outbreaks. It probably resulted in a lot of deaths.<ref name=RossStarFraudulent/>}}

A profile in a ''[[New York Times Magazine]]'' article noted:

{{bq|1=Andrew Wakefield has become one of the most reviled doctors of his generation, blamed directly and indirectly, depending on the accuser, for irresponsibly starting a panic with tragic repercussions: vaccination rates so low that childhood diseases once all but eradicated here—whooping cough and measles, among them—have re-emerged, endangering young lives.<ref name=Dominus>{{cite news|last=Dominus|first=Susan|title=The Crash and Burn of an Autism Guru|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/24/magazine/mag-24Autism-t.html?_r=1|accessdate=31 May 2011|newspaper=New York Times Magazine|date=20 April 2011}}</ref>}}

Journalist [[Brian Deer]] called for criminal charges against Wakefield.<ref name=CNNElaborateFraud>{{cite news | url = http://edition.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/01/06/autism.vaccines/index.html |title= Medical journal: Study linking autism, vaccines is 'elaborate fraud' |publisher= CNN |date= 6 January 2011 |accessdate= 8 January 2011}}</ref>

J. B. Handley of the autism and anti-vaccine advocacy group [[Generation Rescue]] noted, "To our community, Andrew Wakefield is [[Nelson Mandela]] and [[Jesus Christ]] rolled up into one."<ref name=Dominus/> Wakefield has a fundraising group dedicated to supporting his litigation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.drwakefieldjusticefund.org/content/contribute |title=Dr. Wakefield Justice Fund |work= |accessdate=24 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ageofautism.com/2012/02/youre-invited-long-beach-california-fundraising-event-for-dr-andrew-wakefield-legal-defense-fund.html |title=You're Invited: Long Beach California Fundraising Event for Dr. Andrew Wakefield Legal Defense Fund |publisher=Age of Autism |accessdate=24 December 2012}}</ref>

On 1 April 2011, the [[James Randi Educational Foundation]] awarded Wakefield the [[Pigasus Award]] for "refusal to face reality".<ref>{{cite press release |author= Crabtree, Sadie |date= 1 April 2011 |title= The 5 Worst Promoters of Nonsense |url= http://www.randi.org/site/jref-news/1260-pigasus-2011 |publisher= James Randi Educational Foundation |accessdate= 6 April 2011}}</ref>

A 2011 journal article described the vaccine-autism connection as "the most damaging medical hoax of the last 100 years".<ref name=Klaherty>{{cite journal |author=Flaherty DK |title=The vaccine-autism connection: a public health crisis caused by unethical medical practices and fraudulent science |journal=Ann Pharmacother |volume=45 |issue=10 |pages=1302–4 |date=October 2011 |pmid=21917556 |doi=10.1345/aph.1Q318}}</ref>

In 2011, Wakefield was at the top of the list of the worst doctors of 2011 in ''[[Medscape]]'s'' list of "Physicians of the Year: Best and Worst".<ref name=Medscape_worst>[http://www.medscape.com/features/slideshow/physicians-of-the-year/2011 "Physicians of the Year: Best and Worst".] ''[[Medscape]]'' 2011</ref> In January 2012, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' Magazine named Wakefield in a list of "Great Science Frauds".<ref name=Time_great_frauds>[http://healthland.time.com/2012/01/13/great-science-frauds/ "Great Science Frauds"]. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' Magazine, 13 January 2012</ref> In 2012 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement in Quackery award by the Good Thinking Society.<ref name=Jha >{{Cite news |last=Jha |first=Alok |date=23 December 2012 |title=Struck off MMR doctor handed award for 'lifetime achievement in quackery'. Andrew Wakefield, discredited over autism-MMR vaccine link claims, is named Good Thinking Society's Golden Duck winner |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |url=http://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/dec/23/struck-off-mmr-doctor-quackery-award |accessdate=14 October 2014 }}</ref>

A writer from ''The New York Times'', who was covering a 2011 event in [[Tomball, Texas]] where Wakefield spoke, was threatened by its organizer, Michelle Guppy: "Be nice to him, or we will hurt you." She is the coordinator of the Houston Autism Disability Network.<ref name=Dominus/>

In February 2015, Wakefield denied that he bore any responsibility for the [[Measles outbreaks in the 21st century#United States|measles epidemic]] which started at [[Disneyland]]. He also reaffirmed his discredited belief that "MMR contributes to the current autism epidemic."<ref name=Ziv>{{cite web |last=Ziv |first=Stav |date=10 February 2015 |title=Andrew Wakefield, Father of the Anti-Vaccine Movement, Responds to the Current Measles Outbreak for the First Time |work=[[Newsweek]] |url=http://www.newsweek.com/2015/02/20/andrew-wakefield-father-anti-vaccine-movement-sticks-his-story-305836.html |accessdate=16 February 2015 }}</ref> By that time at least 166 cases had been reported. [[Paul Offit]] did not agree, saying that the outbreak was "directly related to Dr. Wakefield's theory."<ref name=Axelrod>{{Cite news |last=Axelrod |first=Jim |date=10 February 2015 |title=Doctor blames discredited autism research for measles outbreak |publisher=[[CBS News]] |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/doctor-blames-discredited-autism-vaccine-link-research-for-measles-outbreak/ |accessdate=16 February 2015 }}</ref>

In June 2012, a local court in [[Rimini]], Italy, ruled that the MMR vaccination had caused autism in a 15-month-old boy. The court relied heavily on Wakefield's discredited ''Lancet'' paper and largely ignored the scientific evidence presented to it. The decision was appealed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/emilywillingham/2013/08/09/court-rulings-dont-confirm-autism-vaccine-link/|title=Court Rulings Don't Confirm Autism-Vaccine Link|publisher=[[Forbes]]|author=Willingham E|date=8 August 2013|accessdate=13 August 2013}}</ref> On 13 February 2015, the decision was overturned by a Court of Appeals in Bologna.<ref name=Bocci>{{Citation |last=Bocci |first=Michele |date=1 March 2015 |title=Autismo, i giudici assolvono il vaccino ("Autism, the judges acquit the vaccine") |publisher=la Repubblica.it |url=http://www.repubblica.it/salute/medicina/2015/03/01/news/autismo_i_giudici_assolvono_il_vaccino-108441541/ |accessdate=4 March 2015 }}</ref>

Wakefield was scheduled to testify before the Oregon Senate Health Care Committee on 9 March 2015, in opposition to Senate Bill 442,<ref name=Yoo>{{Citation |last=Yoo |first=Saerom |date=24 February 2015 |title=Vaccine researcher Wakefield to testify in Oregon |publisher=''[[Statesman Journal]]'' |url=http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/health/2015/02/24/andrew-wakefield-vaccine-oregon/23967797/ |accessdate=3 March 2015 }}</ref> "a bill that would eliminate nonmedical exemptions from Oregon's school immunization law."
The Oregon Chiropractic Association had invited him. The chairwoman of the committee then canceled the meeting "after it became clear that" Wakefield planned to testify. She denied that her decision had anything to do with Wakefield's plans.<ref name=Yoo_canceled>{{Citation |last=Yoo |first=Saerom |date=26 February 2015 |title=Meeting on vaccine mandate bill canceled |publisher=''[[Statesman Journal]]'' |url=http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/health/2015/02/25/meeting-vaccine-mandate-bill-canceled/24020213/ |accessdate=3 March 2015 }}</ref>

== Selected publications ==

=== Books ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book | title=Callous Disregard: Autism and Vaccines: The Truth Behind a Tragedy
|author=Wakefield, Andrew J | isbn=1-61608-169-4|publisher=Skyhorse Publishing |date= 24 May 2010 |coauthors= McCarthy, Jenny, foreword}}
{{refend}}

=== Journal articles ===
{{refbegin}}
* '''Withdrawn''': {{cite journal |author=Hewitson L, Houser LA, Stott C, Sackett G, Tomko JL, Atwood D, Blue L, White ER, Wakefield AJ |title=WITHDRAWN: Delayed acquisition of neonatal reflexes in newborn primates receiving a thimerosal-containing Hepatitis B vaccine: Influence of gestational age and birth weight |journal=Neurotoxicology |date=October 2009 |url= http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6W81-4XC57CT-1&_user=10&_coverDate=10%2F02%2F2009&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=4ea0a1c2aff301ac07f7a1a07079c7d9&searchtype=a | pmid=19800915 |doi=10.1016/j.neuro.2009.09.008}}
* '''Retracted''':{{cite journal |author=Wakefield AJ, Anthony A, Murch SH, Thomson M, Montgomery SM, Davies S, O'Leary JJ, Berelowitz M, Walker-Smith JA |title=Enterocolitis in children with developmental disorders |journal=Am. J. Gastroenterol. |volume=95 |issue=9 |pages=2285–95 |date=September 2000 |pmid=11007230 |doi=10.1111/j.1572-0241.2000.03248.x }}
:* '''Retraction''': {{cite journal | author=Wakefield AJ, Anthony A, Murch SH, Thomson M, Montgomery SM, Davies S, O'Leary JJ, Berelowitz M, Walker-Smith JA |title= Retraction: Enterocolitis in Children With Developmental Disorders |year=2010 |journal=[[The American Journal of Gastroenterology]] |volume=105 |page=1214 |doi= 10.1038/ajg.2010.149 | url=http://www.nature.com/ajg/journal/v105/n5/full/ajg2010149a.html |issue=5}}
* '''Retracted:''' {{cite journal |author=Wakefield AJ, Murch SH, Anthony A, Linnell J, Casson DM, Malik M, Berelowitz M, Dhillon AP, Thomson MA, Harvey P, Valentine A, Davies SE, Walker-Smith JA |title=Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children |journal=[[The Lancet]] |volume=351 |issue=9103 |pages=637–41 |year=1998 |pmid=9500320 |url= http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673697110960/fulltext|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(97)11096-0}}{{Retracted paper|intentional=yes}}
:* '''Retraction''': {{cite journal |last1= The Editors Of The Lancet|title=Retraction – Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children |journal=[[The Lancet]] |volume=375 |issue=9713 |page=445 |date=February 2010 |pmid=20137807 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(10)60175-4 |url=}}
* {{cite journal |doi=10.1016/0016-5085(95)90467-0 |author=Wakefield AJ, Ekbom A, Dhillon AP, Pittilo RM, Pounder RE |title=Crohn's disease: pathogenesis and persistent measles virus infection |journal=Gastroenterology |volume=108 |issue=3 |pages=911–6 |date=March 1995 |pmid=7875495 }}
* {{cite journal |doi=10.1002/jmv.1890390415 |author=Wakefield AJ, Pittilo RM, Sim R, Cosby SL, Stephenson JR, Dhillon AP, Pounder RE |title=Evidence of persistent measles virus infection in Crohn's disease |journal=J. Med. Virol. |volume=39 |issue=4 |pages=345–53 |date=April 1993 |pmid=8492105 }}
* {{cite journal |author=Wakefield AJ |title=Granulomatous vasculitis in Crohn's disease |journal=Gastroenterology |volume=100 |issue=5 Pt 1 |pages=1279–87 |date=May 1991 |pmid=2013373 |author2=Sankey EA |author3=Dhillon AP |last4=Sawyerr |first4=AM |last5=More |first5=L |last6=Sim |first6=R |last7=Pittilo |first7=RM |last8=Rowles |first8=PM |last9=Hudson |first9=M |display-authors=3 }}
* {{cite journal |author=Wakefield AJ, Sawyerr AM, Dhillon AP, Pittilo RM, Rowles PM, Lewis AA, Pounder RE |title=Pathogenesis of Crohn's disease: multifocal gastrointestinal infarction |journal=[[The Lancet]] |volume=2 |issue=8671 |pages=1057–62 |date=November 1989 |pmid=2572794 }}
{{refend}}

== See also ==
* [[List of vaccine topics]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

== External links ==
* {{Cite journal | author = Alaszewski A | doi = 10.1136/bmj.d236 | title = How campaigners and the media push bad science| journal = BMJ | volume = 342 | pages = d236 | year = 2011 }}
* {{cite journal |author=Deer B |title=Secrets of the MMR scare. The Lancet's two days to bury bad news |journal=BMJ |volume=342 |issue= |pages=c7001 |year=2011 |pmid=21245118| url = http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.c7001 |doi=10.1136/bmj.c7001}}
* {{Cite journal | author= Godlee F | doi = 10.1136/bmj.d378 | title = Institutional and editorial misconduct in the MMR scare | journal = BMJ | volume = 342 | pages = d378 | year = 2011 | url = http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.d378}}
* {{cite press release |url= http://www.fic.nih.gov/News/Events/Pages/fiona-godlee-mrr.aspx |title= Lessons from the MMR Scare by Fiona Godlee |date= 6 September 2011 |publisher= [[Fogarty International Center]], [[National Institutes of Health]] |accessdate= 30 December 2013}}
* {{cite journal |author=Opel DJ, Diekema DS, Marcuse EK |title=Assuring research integrity in the wake of Wakefield |journal=BMJ |volume=342 |issue= |pages=d2 |year=2011 |pmid=21245120 | doi = 10.1136/bmj.d2| url = http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.d2}}
* {{cite web |url= http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/vaccines/ |title= The Vaccine War |publisher= [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] [[Frontline (US TV series)|FRONTLINE]] |date= 27 April 2010 |accessdate= 30 December 2013}}

{{Authority control|VIAF=120472675|LCCN=n2010181749}}

{{Persondata
| NAME = Wakefield, Andrew
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = surgeon and medical researcher
| DATE OF BIRTH = 1957
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH =
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wakefield, Andrew}}
[[Category:Medical scandals in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:MMR vaccine controversy]]
[[Category:People associated with the MMR vaccine controversy]]
[[Category:Anti-vaccination activists]]
[[Category:Autism researchers]]
[[Category:Health fraud]]
[[Category:Scientific misconduct]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1957 births]]
[[Category:Date of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Place of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:British medical researchers]]
[[Category:Alumni of Imperial College London]]
[[Category:People educated at King Edward's School, Bath]]
[[Category:Medical doctors struck off by the General Medical Council]]
[[Category:British gastroenterologists]]
[[Category:Academic scandals]]
[[Category:English fraudsters]]
[[Category:People educated at St Mary's Hospital Medical School]]

Revision as of 20:02, 18 March 2015

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