Paralympian Kurt Fearnley has hit back at Anthony Mundine after the former boxer encouraged people not to vaccinate their kids.

Mundine was condemned by hundreds on online on Thursday after posting an anti-vaccination rant on Twitter, telling his followers “don’t vaccine (sic) your kids period!”.

“The government bully you into vaccine! Do your research on the sh*t,” he wrote.

“All I’m saying is research and check what they giving you or ya baby!

“When they start mixing it like a cocktail that’s where it’s going wrong!”

Don’t vaccine your kids period! The government bully you into vaccine ! Do your research on the shit & watched the documentary vaxxed … https://t.co/PKX6qSYtm5

— . (@Anthony_Mundine) April 10, 2019

Fearnley was among those to shoot Mundine down, accusing him of promoting apathy over diseases that should be feared.

“You got many mates with polio? I do. A heap. From countries that didn’t have the luxury of vaccinations, you peanut,” the paralympic champion wrote.

You can’t make this shit up. We’ve became so comfortable that some promote fear in our peace and others promote apathy in what should be feared… You got many mates with Polio? I do. A heap. From countries that didn’t have the luxury of vaccinations you peanut…. https://t.co/yejUujRfoT

— Kurt Fearnley (@kurtfearnley) April 10, 2019

He followed up that tweet with another, saying was “bad faith” for anti-vaxxers to recommend people do their own research into vaccinations, when medical professionals had already done so.

“Most people don’t have the time required to adequately research … so we rely on the combined knowledge of the medical profession,” he wrote.

“Do your research … Consult your GP. Not Dr Google.”

Prominent indigenous activist and academic Marcia Langton also hit back at the former boxer.

Professor Langton holds the Foundation Chair in Australian Indigenous Studies at the Melbourne University Faculty of Medicine.

“The science is in. Everyone must be vaccinated. Measles can kill and cause lifetime disabilities,” she wrote.

The spat comes as Australia deals with a spike in measles cases, with 85 cases already confirmed this year. The nation had 103 cases in total for 2018 and 81 in 2017.

Health authorities say much of the spike is due to people being infected while they are overseas. They are urging Australians who are planning to travel to make sure their measles vaccination is up to date.

The comments come a month after a mammoth study found no link between autism and the mumps, measles and rubella vaccine.

Anti-vaxxers have long claimed the MMR vaccine can cause autism, but researchers who studied more than half-a-million babies born in Denmark over 11 years found there is absolutely no association.

The federal government has launched a national television advertising blitz to counter the misinformation spread by anti-vaccination campaigners.

In February, the government also committed an extra $12 million over the next three years to reinforce the health benefits of the nation’s immunisation program.

-with AAP