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Gloria Dignazio isn’t swayed by the heavy weight of scientific evidence that suggests vaccines have nothing to do with autism. After seeing her first daughter develop the condition in the wake of receiving an array of needles, she made sure her youngest would never be immunized.

“I’m not scared of my children getting any diseases,” said the Winnipeg legal assistant. “I’m scared of the vaccine. They’re man-made concoctions that are injected straight into the blood stream.”

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Ms. Dignazio represents a surprisingly large chunk of Canadians who have turned their back on immunization despite its reputation as one of history’s great public-health successes. Figures obtained by the National Post suggest tens of thousands of parents exempt their children from various shots.

That attitude has come into sharp focus lately, after a large outbreak of measles in British Columbia was linked to a Dutch Reform congregation whose pastor says vaccines interfere with God’s will. Less well known is that a widespread whooping-cough outbreak in southern Ontario in 2012 originated among low-German Mennonites, who similarly spurn immunization.