Durban - Efforts have been made to curb the measles outbreak in KwaZulu-Natal but some of the infected have refused the vaccine for religious reasons.
According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), cases of measles were first confirmed in the eThekwini and uMgungundlovu Districts in July. As of last Tuesday, with cases also in the iLembe and uThukela Districts, 23 people, aged between 9 months and 51 years old, were confirmed to have measles. There are four more suspected cases.
The majority, 14, are in eThekwini and of these, 10 are people of the Muslim faith.
Some of the infected cited religious reasons for declining the vaccine.
“There have been concerns about the presence of porcine gelatin in the measles vaccine,” said the NICD.
Porcine gelatin is a substance derived from the collagen in pigs.
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The Department of Health on Monday urged people in the “affected communities to take advantage of the vaccination offered in public health institutions. This should be done urgently to avoid any further transmission of the virus.”
Since December 2015, the only vaccine used in South Africa, by both private and public health-care professionals, contained this ingredient. The previous vaccine did not but was discontinued by the manufacturer in 2014.
Huzaifah Khan, a pharmacist and chairperson of the Islamic Medical Association’s Johannesburg branch, said avoiding pork and pork products was part of the fundamental Muslim beliefs. However, this applied unless there was a life or death situation. Regarding porcine gelatine in health-care products, Islamic scholars from around the world debated this at the Islamic Organization for Medical Sciences session in Kuwait in 1995.
“It was agreed that in the process of manufacturing health-care products, the porcine (matter) undergoes changes but opinions were divided. But there were two schools of thought. Those who accepted the changes to the physical and chemical structures making it permissible but there were also those who still believe that if a medical product contains porcine (gelatine), it is not permissible,” said Khan.
AV Mohamed, chairperson of the Juma Masjid mosque, said there was no hard and fast rule that Muslim people could not or should not take this or any other medicine which may contain ingredients otherwise prohibited in Islam.
He said historically some believed more in homeopathic remedies. But the Qur’an was clear when it came to saving lives.
The Muslim Judicial Council Fatwa (Islamic legal pronouncement) Committee said Islam encouraged taking medication and this was not contrary to trusting in God.
But, the decision to take medication is not an obligation and those who decide to take it and those who decide not to should be respected.
“When a disease holds potential of reaching pandemic proportions, the use of prevention medication becomes emphasised as a social and not just personal responsibility.”
They ruled that “impure” substances as medicines can be used if there isn’t a viable alternative, proven efficiency of the medication and obliteration of the impure substance to the point of untraceability. Porcine gelatine in the measles vaccine met this criteria.
“The hierarchy of the Objectives of Shariah, the need to preserve life and health outweighs the obligation to abstain from consuming haram and, when weighed up against one another, the advantages of immunisation take precedence…”
The department said outbreak teams had met to map out an intervention plan. This includes targeted vaccination campaigns and community engagement meetings.
This is the third outbreak this year, following the Western Cape in January and Gauteng in June. The total infected is more than 130, contrasted with 17 cases nationwide in 2015 and last year.