2.21  Risk v Benefits

Moynihan and Smith (2002) present the concept of health economist, Alain Enthoven, that increasing medical inputs will at some point become counterproductive and produce more harm than good. The analysis is supported by the data of Sen (2002), showing that the more a society spends on health care the more likely are its inhabitants to regard themselves as sick.

Bedford and Elliman (2000) describe the vaccine dissenters as a vocal minority of parents who have cast doubt on the wisdom of having their children immunised against measles, mumps and rubella. “Not only does this place their own children at risk, but if a significant number of children remain unimmunised it poses a risk to the general population.” 

McBrien, Murphy, Gill, Cronin, O’Donovan and Cafferkey  (2000) described a measles epidemic in Dublin with 355 children attending the local hospital, 111 being admitted. Three children who were not healthy to start with died from complications as a result (BBC Radio 5 Live Report 2000); this is not mentioned in the study.  Further, admitting 111 children to hospital begs the question would an older doctor with experience of dealing with measles have admitted so many children? 

Florillo and Robinson (1999), stated “the majority of physicians in practice today in developed countries have never seen a case of tetanus.” Few doctors in developed countries will have seen measles or mumps.