It is difficult not to notice growing attention regarding measles outbreaks and the recent call by Health Minister Simon Harris to introduce mandatory vaccinations. While vaccinations have clearly benefitted public health, the attention has focused solely on one factor; that is rates of immunisation. However, there has been no comment regarding other factors.

It is widely accepted that vitamin A deficiency impairs immunity thereby increasing the risk of measles. Evidence also suggests that vitamin A deficiency lowers the antibody response to some vaccines, including measles, tetanus, rotavirus and diphtheria toxoid vaccinations. Thus, measles outbreaks can occur among vaccinated individuals as reported in the American Journal of Public Health, when a measles outbreak occurred in a school in Boston with a documented vaccination level of 98%. Vaccinated individuals were sources of infection for approximately 50% of cases.

In the journal Vaccine, it was reported in 2017 that in South Korea, a country where measles had been eliminated due to 95% vaccine coverage, outbreaks affected more individuals who were vaccinated than non-vaccinated individuals. Interestingly, the authors suggested this occurrence may have been due to waning vaccine-induced immunity in the absence of natural boosting by circulating measles viruses.

Evidence from human and animal studies show that ingesting fluoride contributes to vitamin A deficiency. Moreover, ingesting fluoride significantly reduces the bioavailability of other vitamins including vitamins E, C and D and lowers the concentrations of natural antioxidants required to fight disease.

Iodine is a vital micronutrient required at all stages of life; foetal life and early childhood the most critical. In addition to regulating thyroid hormones, iodine has many additional functions, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-microbial defence. Thus, iodine deficiency contributes to impaired immunity and increased risk of disease. The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health recently published a study which I wrote demonstrating that fluoride inhibits iodine uptake and transportation and contributes to iodine deficiency disorders. Emerging evidence also reported in the same journal in another study which I authored, recently found that fluoride inhibits another crucial protein called sodium potassium activated adenosine 50-triphosphatase.

Inhibition of this essential protein has been shown to be implicated in asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, inflammatory autoimmune diseases, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease, obesity, degenerative eye diseases, autism, ADHD, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, depression and mood disorders, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, neonatal seizures and epilepsy as well as cognitive deficits, impaired male fertility and increased risk of cancer.

Taken together, evidence suggests that mandatory fluoridation of drinking water as practised here — one of only two countries where this is mandated by legislation — may be contributing to diverse pathophysiological conditions. Therefore, evidence suggests that one of the safest, simplest and most cost-effective means of reducing the burden of disease may also boost population immune function and resistance to fight infectious disease would be to end fluoridation.

But the health minister will no doubt ignore this evidence, as he has ignored the recent evidence which found that water fluoridation was associated with increased prevalence of hypothyroidism and ADHD and prenatal exposure to fluoride in pregnancy was associated with lower IQ in offspring and increased risk of ADHD.

Declan Waugh



Riverview



Bandon



Co Cork