Danish scientists from the University of Copenhagen claim that the MMR vaccine (CCP – measles, mumps, rubella) reduces the risk of asthma in children and reduces the incidence of asthmatic episodes in those who already have it.
Experts analyzed data from more than 300 thousand children born between 1999 and 2006. Scientists have figured out how many people from this number have had asthma and whether they have been vaccinated against measles.
Calculations show that immunization with the MMR vaccine reduces the overall incidence rate of asthma by about 10%, and the proportion of cases of severe asthma leading to an emergency hospitalization is by 27%.
However, this dependence was found only for boys, and the vaccine had no effect on the incidence of asthma in girls. This fact, scientists can not yet explain.
While scientists find it difficult to describe the exact mechanism of the effect of vaccination on the risk of asthma. However, in earlier studies, the idea that measles infection itself can reduce the risk of asthma has already flashed. And since the MMR vaccine contains an insignificant amount of live measles virus, it is possible that asthma resistance develops as a side effect that mimics the effects of a real disease.