NEW research has ruled out any connection between vaccines and the development of autism spectrum disorder, delivering a further blow to anti-vaccination activists who have peddled this myth for almost two decades.

A study of nearly 100,000 children in the US found no link between the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine with autism, even for high-risk children who had an older sibling on the spectrum.

“Consistent with studies in other populations, we observed no association between MMR vaccination and increased ASD risk among privately insured children,’’ it said.

“We also found no evidence that receipt of either one or two doses of MMR vaccination was associated with an increased risk of ASD among children who had older siblings with ASD.”

NO JAB, NO PAY: Anti-vaxxer parents to lose childcare benefits

The report — published in the Journal of the American Medical Association — found that there was an overwhelming “lack of evidence” to support the largely discredited 1998 research paper from British surgeon Andrew Jeremy Wakefield associating vaccines with the development of autism.

It warns that lower levels of vaccinations threatened public health and had been linked to several outbreaks of measles in the US.

The findings come just two weeks after Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced historic social services reforms regarding childhood vaccinations.

Under the new No Jab No Play rules, parents who refuse to vaccinate their children will be denied up to $15,000 a year in childcare rebates and welfare payments.

carleen.frost@news.com.au