As has been widely reported in the New York Times and elsewhere, cases of measles are on the rise in the United States and throughout the world. The Times writes that “more people had measles infections in the first seven months of this year than during any comparable period since 1996.” Public officials blame growing numbers of parents who refuse to vaccinate their children because they believe vaccines cause autism.

As Dr. Paul Offit, shows in his forthcoming book Autism’s False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure, there is no scientific evidence linking measles vaccine. His work aslo traces the ways in which lawyers, politicians, journalists, and celebrity spokespeople, have become “false prophets,” in their attempts to convince the public that vaccines are the cause of childhood autism.

We’ll be posting more about this very important and much-needed book in the coming weeks. In the meantime, you can also view a video of Offit discussing the book and the controversy surrounding childhood autism.