Australia's political leaders and medical experts have been called on to dispel Donald Trump's unproven link between paracetamol use in pregnancy and autism.
Flanked by Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US president linked autism to the use of over-the-counter pain medication Tylenol.
Tylenol is an American brand of paracetamol and has the same main ingredient, acetaminophen.
No evidence was provided to back up the claim but the US Food and Drug Administration has moved to change acetaminophen product labels while issuing a letter to physicians to say the decision to take it "still belongs with parents".
Medical experts say that fever in pregnancy is not good for the baby. (Jane Dempster/AAP PHOTOS)
Margie Danchin, a clinician scientist at the University of Melbourne and Murdoch Children's Research Institute, said the claim was based on research that wasn't robust.
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"It's not a clinical trial, it wasn't a randomised study, it wasn't even prospective," the Royal Children's Hospital consultant pediatrician told AAP on Tuesday.
"It's very concerning ... it's going to have serious health consequences."
Professor Danchin acknowledged trust in health advice had been "damaged" by vaccine mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic, with people finding conflicting information wherever they turned.
"We're living in very scary times," she said.
"We need to stand up now as doctors, healthcare providers and scientists to clearly communicate the science ... to counteract the sticky mis and disinformation."
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Autism Awareness Australia chief executive Nicole Rogerson described the US administration's announcement as "jazz hands and nonsense".
The unfounded claims from the leader of the free world couldn't be laughed off, she said.
"There will be people here who listen to that who fall hook, line and sinker," Ms Rogerson said.
Despite RFK Jr's long history of anti-vaccine rhetoric, she did not expect the Republican president to call for a re-examination of the long-disproven link between vaccines and autism.
She said president's suggestion that leucovorin, a form of folic acid, as a treatment for autism symptoms gave off "Ivermectin vibes", referring to Mr Trump endorsing the unproven use of the drug for COVID-19.
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"There is no known evidence that this is a legitimate treatment," she said.
"He is feeding the world of the conspiracy theorists."
Experts say small associations need to be weighed against the risk of untreated fever in pregnancy. (Jono Searle/AAP PHOTOS)
Australia must double down on stressing the safety of vaccines and cannot "fall asleep" on dispelling misinformation coming out of the United States.
"Sensible people in the scientific community and the government need to be on the front foot here debunking this kind of nonsense," she said.
There has been no change in advice on the safety of paracetamol from Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration following the White House media event.
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"Paracetamol remains Pregnancy Category A in Australia, meaning that it is considered safe for use in pregnancy," a TGA spokesperson said.
"The TGA has no current active safety investigations for paracetamol and autism, or paracetamol and neurodevelopmental disorders more broadly."
Ahead of the announcement, Health Minister Mark Butler cautioned pregnant women not to take action without seeking medical advice, noting paracetamol was an important treatment for fever.
Andrew Whitehouse, a professor of autism research at The University of Western Australia, said any "small associations" must be weighed against the risk of untreated high fever for the mother and developing baby.
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Senior lecturer at Monash University's Turner institute for Brain and Mental Health Hannah Kirk said some studies reported an association between acetaminophen use and autism but "association does not mean causation".
That conclusion was echoed by Australian Medical Association president Danielle McMullen.
"I wish we had an answer for what causes autism for the many families out there who are struggling," Dr McMullen told ABC Radio.
"But, in fact, there's no study that shows that paracetamol is a cause."
[SRC] https://au.news.yahoo.com/scary-trumps-jazz-hands-autism-023328806.html
