WHO dismisses Trump's claim that paracetamol use during pregnancy can cause autism

US President Donald Trump

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday dismissed US President Donald Trump's claim that the use of drug Tylenol (paracetamol) during pregnancy may contribute to rising autism rates.

The President had also fueled long-debunked claims that ingredients in vaccines or timing shots close together could contribute to rising rates of autism in US.

In a statement, a WHO spokesperson said that evidence of any link between use of paracetamol during pregnancy and autism is "inconsistent and that the value of life-saving vaccines should not be questioned."

During a press briefing in Geneva, WHO spokesperson Tarik Jaaarevic said that vaccines do not cause autism. "Vaccines, as I said, save countless lives. So this is something that science has proven, and these things should not be really questioned,” he added.

Earlier, Trump suggested that the use of Tylenol during pregnancy may contribute to rising autism rates, a potential link experts have studied and say is unproven.

Speaking Monday from the White House, the president said women should not take acetaminophen, also known by the brand name Tylenol, “during the entire pregnancy.” He also raised unfounded concerns about vaccines.

The Trump administration has been under immense pressure from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s diverse Make America Healthy Again movement to provide answers on the causes of the marked increase in autism cases in the U.S. in recent years.

Experts say the rise in cases is mainly due to a new definition for the disorder that now includes mild cases on a “spectrum” and better diagnoses. They say there is no single cause to the disorder and say the rhetoric appears to ignore and undermine decades of science into the genetic and environmental factors that can play a role.

(With inputs from agencies)