Pertussis vaccine immunizations each year in the United States), and the risk of death from the disease was high (pertussis killed thousands of Americans each year before the vaccine was introduced). No studies showed a causal connection, and later studies showed no connection of any type between the DPT vaccine and permanent brain injury. The alleged vaccine-induced brain damage proved to be an unrelated condition, infantile epilepsy. In 1990, the "Journal of the American Medical Association" called the connection a "myth" and "nonsense". However, negative publicity and fear-mongering caused the immunization rate to fall in several countries, including the UK, Sweden, and
Rh disease Rh disease Rh disease (also known as rhesus isoimmunisation, Rh (D) disease, rhesus incompatibility, rhesus disease, RhD hemolytic disease of the newborn, rhesus D hemolytic disease of the newborn or RhD HDN) is a type of hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN). The disease ranges from mild to severe, and typically occurs only in some second or subsequent pregnancies of Rh negative women where the fetus's father is Rh positive, leading to a Rh+ pregnancy. During birth, the mother may be exposed to the infant's blood, and this causes the development of antibodies, which may affect the health of subsequent