Autism Fears Are Fueling Minnesota's Measles Outbreak

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Not to plough into an anti-vaccination discussion but if I were a parent whom believed the jab caused autism I would spend a little thought along these lines 'measles kills children autism doesn't'. Well actually I would go looking for the non existent evidence and discover that it doesn't exist and then get my child vaccinated.

It's the same here. Children in the Somalian community are disproportionately affected by adhd and autism, se a link I posted before> viewtopic.php?t=334151&hilit=+somalian This post didn't receive any answers, presumably because it mentions two uncomfortable topics, religious practice and skin colour. Considering that Sweden is one of the most anti-racist countries in the world, I doubt the statistics in the study are incorrect. I also think that everyone deserves access to information that could improve their health.

The researchers believe that the high prevalence of autism and adhd is caused by lack of vitamin D during pregnancy. If that's the case, mothers with dark skin who have little sun exposure would be more likely to give birth to autistic and adhd children, which they seem to do.

I talked to a children's nurse who said a lot of Somalians don't vaccinate their children because they believe it causes autism.

On a purely anecdotal note, I think Somalian culture is one of the most extroverted cultures on the planet, which also means that Somalians might find autism particularly scary. Most of the adult Somalis I know are extremely outgoing, friendly, flexible and likely to lie through their teeth. I've also met quite a few Somalian children with adhd or autism. I know trauma can be interpreted as adhd, but the only thing that really looks like autism in children is Complex-ptsd, and that's quite unusual.

Why Minnesota lost a battle against anti-vaccine campaigners A public health official explains how a local Somali community got hit with a measles outbreak.