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Imagine living in the fourteenth century for a minute. You wake up in a flea-bed after a restless night's sleep, interrupted by the rooster (waking up before the hour).
You wear the cleanest clothes you have, the ones you washed a month ago, and you go to work.
As you go out, you see your little girl lying on the table. She has had a high fever for some time and frequently mentions being cold.
You have already scanned his complaints because everyone is sick, but today, something different.
Today, you notice that her toes and fingers are starting to darken. The shadow of the Black Death is already in your house!
Bubonic plague, also called the Black Death, is a disease that few people in modern times have known, but is infamous for the number of people it killed in the fourteenth century.
Although the exact number is impossible to identify, researchers said that 50 million deaths would be a safe estimate.
The Black Death has been responsible for the destruction of at least a quarter of the population in Europe, with equally damaging effects in Africa and Asia. Can you imagine such a disease?
Diphtheria, measles, meningitis and other vaccine-preventable diseases are just as dangerous.
If these words are unknown to you, it means that your vaccines have already worked.
Natural versus acquired
Some people might wonder if the natural immunity – acquired by contracting the infection, against which our immune system develops defenses – is more potent and less harmful than those given in the form of vaccines.
The answer is that most of the time, natural immunity is more potent than vaccination, but you could pay a higher price.
For example, mumps can cause deafness and an infection with the flu bacteria can cause permanent brain damage, or even be fatal.
Unfortunately, misinformation and fear can cause suffering when it could have been avoided.
Does not cause autism
Let's talk a bit about this misinformation.
First, the argument of anti-vaccination argues that vaccines are dangerous because they are not natural or contain harmful ingredients.
A notable example is thimerosal (a preservative) who has been wrongly accused of causing autism in children.
A research paper published in 1998 claimed to establish a correlation between measles and autism, putting parents in a quandary as to the choice of administering vaccines to their children.
However, this document has since been largely refuted. It was later retracted by the editors because of false statements and unethical acts of the author.
Unfortunately, the sensationalist headlines had already done the damage and created skeptics about vaccines that continue to sow fear until today.
do not haram!
Second, some Muslim parents worry about taking vaccines haram or discouraged in Islam.
As the reason most often cited for avoiding vaccines is religion, especially in some states like Perak, we would like to point out that vaccines are halal.
The Fatwa National Council decided that taking vaccines was harus (permissible) in Islam as a method of preventing the sickness and suffering of individuals and communities.
Children who are not vaccinated can transmit diseases to other children too young to be vaccinated or to people whose immune system is weakened, such as transplant patients and cancer patients.
This could lead to long-term complications, or even death, for these vulnerable people.
It is haram to be the cause of another person's death or suffering by being (intentionally or not) the source of the disease.
The harmful impact of the anti-vaccination movement has already been demonstrated: in January 2015, an 11-year-old child in the United States was hospitalized for a suspected infection with measles.
His only notable trip outside the previous week was a visit to Disneyland.
In one month, 125 cases of measles were reported. Thirty-nine (35%) had attended the same Disneyland theme park, 37 (34%) were unknown recipients and 34 (31%) were secondary patients.
Of these secondary patients, 26 belonged to the household or had close contact with primary patients, and eight of them were exposed in a community setting.
Avoidable death
As health professionals, our concern is what will happen in the long term if the anti-vaccination movement is not controlled.
If these numbers continue to increase, it could have a significant effect on the health of the entire country.
There were 28 cases of diphtheria, including five deaths reported in Malaysia in 2016 and 32 cases with seven deaths in 2018.
More recently, in October 2018, an unvaccinated child died of diphtheria in Johor. She was only 14 months old.
It's a tragedy for their families and a powerful reminder for all of us.
On a worrying note, there is an increase in the number of parents who refuse to vaccinate their children, according to data from government clinics and hospitals.
The good news is that, despite misinformation, Malaysians are doing a great job of keeping their children vaccinated, especially with programs such as the National Immunization Program (NIP).
This program has maintained a 95% vaccination rate among Malaysians.
For the 2016-2020 PIN campaign, the goals are to address the problem of vaccine rejection in the community and to strengthen the program by directly calling new parents or prospective parents, young professionals and students from higher education institutions. .
Although 95% is fantastic and in line with World Health Organization standards, Malaysians can do better.
We have access to free vaccination that can actually save lives. People from other countries can only wish for such a blessing.
We have seen many epidemics of preventable diseases. the latest is the Yemen diphtheria epidemic in 2017, which caused 1,907 cases, including 98 badociated deaths.
Children aged 5 to 15 years were the most affected, accounting for 44% of cases.
Let us be grateful to live in a safe and healthy country and try to keep it that way.
If you love your family, encourage her to take her vaccines. Prevention is better than cure, that's what we've always been told.
Professor Amal Rashad Nimir is Professor of Microbiology at the Graduate School of Medicine of the University of Perdana. This article is courtesy of Perdana University. For more information, write to [email protected]. The information provided is for educational and communication purposes only and should not be construed as personal medical advice. The information in this article is not intended to replace, replace, or supplement the consultation of a health professional regarding the medical care provided to the reader. L & # 39; star disclaims any liability for loss, damage or injury to property suffered directly or indirectly by the use of such information.
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