Nearly 16 years after his controversial study was first published, the work of the discredited British doctor Andrew Wakefield - the researcher who linked the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine with autism - is back in the news.
Since 2010, Wakefield has been barred from practicing medicine in the UK. He now lives and works in the US where he retains a cult following.
Twitter comments involving one of Wakefield's most ardent supporters - the TV celebrity Jenny McCarthy, who wrote a foreword to his book Callous Disregard: Autism and Vaccines: The Truth Behind a Tragedy - have reignited the passionate debate over perceived links between vaccines and autism.
In addition, three new studies have found intriguing results on the support among the general public for the theory that vaccines cause adverse effects, particularly autism.
Fear of vaccines is not new and dates back to the invention of this medical procedure in the 17th century. As far back as 1802, vaccine inventor Dr. Edward Jenner was lampooned in the popular media of the time.
"The Cow Pock - or - the Wonderful Effects of the New Innoculation," a satirical painting by James Gillray that displayed commoners sprouting cows from their bodies having received a dose of Jenner's cowpox-derived smallpox vaccine, was emblematic of public fears over the nature of this new medical technology.
In recent times, major outbreaks of diseases previously thought to be under control in the US and UK due to vaccination - measles, mumps, and whooping cough - were assumed to be caused by a renewed fear of vaccination, possibly as a result of the combination measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine controversy.
Some people are also worried about potentially fatal outbreaks of other vaccine-preventable diseases, such as diphtheria and invasive Haemophilus influenzae, as immunization rates for these diseases have also fallen below federal guidelines.
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