Father regrets vaccination decision

When Emmanuel Bilodeau made the decision not to vaccinate his children, he did so out of fear.

"We worried 10-12 years ago because there was a lot of debate around the MMR [measles, mumps and rubella] vaccine," he tells CBC News.

"Doctors were coming out with research connecting the MMR vaccine with autism. So we were a little concerned."

In Canada, where the family resides, it is recommended children receive two doses of the vaccine at 12 months and then at 5-6 years of age.

With no protection from those diseases, the Bilodeau family headed to Vietnam for a family trip earlier this year.

The father believes one of his three sons contracted measles during the holiday, and the disease has since spread through the school the children attend.

His youngest son, 11, was the first to begin experiencing symptoms during the plane trip home, including a fever, with the other two boys falling ill soon after.

Measles were eventually diagnosed after several trips to the hospital.

Dr. Althea Hayden of Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) confirmed on Friday the outbreak of measles at the school, with eight confirmed cases affecting students, staff and parents.

Nicole Rogerson, CEO of Autism Awareness Australia, says it's "incredibly frustrating" to hear the anti-vaxx narrative continues.

"The science linking autism to vaccines has long been debunked. It is simply silly," she tells 9Honey. "These parent groups are spreading dangerous misinformation. We must never again allow preventable diseases from returning, all in the name of faux science. Parents who are unsure, need to get their advice from medical professionals, not online parent groups."

Rogerson, who has a son with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), says the condition is "widespread" and is not a disease.

"Many people are very proud to be autistic and proud of their autistic children - so to say the potentially deadly diseases are more dangerous than 'autism' is incredibly offensive to a large part of our community," she explains.

"I ask parents to be smart, beware dodgy web sites and online forums. Look at the research and don't fall into the trap of making your children vulnerable to preventable diseases."

Bilodeau has since admitted his mistake, saying his family is by no means anti-vaccination, having ensured their children received their other immunisations, with the exception of MMR.

"We're just very cautious parents and we just tried to do it in the manner that was the least invasive possible on the child's health," he tells CBC News. "We were hoping we could find a vaccine that was given in a separate shot so it wasn't such a hit on the kid."

Sadly, it is too late for his local community, with the measles outbreak worsening.

CBC reports multiple confirmed cases of the disease, which can have potentially fatal consequences.

Visit the Australian Medical Association website to learn more about vaccinations.