Thank you, Lorenzo

The death of Roald Dahl's daughter Olivia from measles induced encephalitis, revealed in the new biography serialised by the Daily Telegraph, must have made interesting reading for all those parents still shying away from having their children vaccinated. Did it also prick the conscience of Andrew Wakefield, the discredited doctor who led thousands of them to connect the MMR triple vaccine with autism and Crohn's Disease - despite no credible evidence that it caused either?

I went to primary school with a boy called Lorenzo, who suffered the same rare but terrifying brain inflammation after the measles as Olivia Dahl. He survived, but at age eight, having formerly been able to read and write, he became a wild, disturbed boy who could only scream, laugh and throw things at the teachers. When the health visitor offered us the vaccine for our children I read the information, but found my memories of Lorenzo focused the mind even more effectively. I'm guessing that the other kids in our class who are now parents might now also be remembering him with sorrow, and a shudder of gratitude.