Measles on the rise in Pahang as public shy away from vaccination

KUANTAN, June 25 — The Pahang Health Department has confirmed that the incidence of measles in the state has risen.

Its director Datuk Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar said there had been 29 cases as at June 24 this year, compared to only two cases in the same period last year.

“The cases involved patients aged between three months and 37 years, and 38 per cent were those who should get immunisation but were not administered the measles vaccine,” he told Bernama here today.

Although immunisation coverage in the state had reached the target, there were still parents or guardians who would not allow their children to be vaccinated, he said.

“In 2014, there were 84 reported cases of immunisation rejection, and the number rose to 126 in 2015, and 88 as at May this year.”

Dr Zainal Ariffin attributed the rejection to doubts about the content of the vaccine, preference for homeopathy and persuasion by family members and friends.

“This rejection phenomenon by parents and guardians will only endanger the lives of their children and a source for the infectious disease to spread,” he said.

In Perak, 102 cases of rejection by parents for vaccination for their children were recorded between January and May this year, compared to 145 throughout 2015.

State Health, Transport, Non-Muslim Affairs, National Integration and New Villages Committee chairman Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon said of the number, 100 were by Malay families and the rest, other races.

“Parents should not be influenced by rumours that children would become disabled if they receive the vaccination as this rarely occurs,” he told Bernama after a motivation workshop for teachers and students at Batang Padang here.

Perak Health director Datuk Dr Juwita Ghazali urged parents not to doubt or be anxious about the status of the vaccines as the Health Ministry had certified them as halal.

Meanwhile in George Town, state Agriculture and Agro-based Industry, Rural Development and Health Committee chairman Dr Afif Bahardin said Penang has not recorded any cases of diphtheria.

Nevertheless, he said, the committee had already identified the parents who were “anti-vaccine” by not letting their children receive immunisation prepared by the Health Ministry. 

“The state health department had earlier on carried out awareness campaigns on the vaccination,” he told reporters after the launch of the automated external defibrillator by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng at Bukit Bendera here.

 

To date, there had been two cases of deaths from diphtheria, in Melaka and Kedah. — Bernama

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