Halal Vaccine for Hajj Pilgrims
Even before few years, the fully Halal meningitis vaccine was a dream for the Muslim world but now it’s a reality. The long waited Halal meningitis vaccine named ‘Menveo’ is now available worldwide. Many Muslim countries including the Saudi Arabia has approved it and many have instructed to replace the previously used one with this Halal vaccine.
According to the available information meningitis vaccine earlier produced, contained materials of bovine or porcine origin. Due to this reason the Muslims had been complaining against those vaccines and pressuring for producing completely Halal vaccine from Halal ingredients. Due to this demand from the Muslim world an ‘apparently Halal’ vaccine was produced named Mencevax. It is alleged that Mencevex even used porcine ingredients at manufacturing stage but the finished product could be made porcine free with the blessings of latest scientific technologies. Nevertheless to say that Bangladesh is still using this ‘apparently halal’ vaccine though completely halal vaccine is available in the market. However, the government is under pressure to use halal vaccine especially for the hajj pilgrims. The Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) has recently forwarded a letter to the ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 19 March 2012 (Ref.: nve/ ¯^vcKg/†gwbbRvBwUR/cÖ`vb/2012/137) and urged the government to take necessary measures to collect halal meningitis vaccine for the hajj pilgrims.
It should be mentioned here that the Saudi government has already approved Menveo as a halal vaccine for its people.
The Jakarta Globe reported that Indonesia’s Health Ministry has halted distribution of Mencevax for those planning the pilgrimage to Mecca, after the Indonesian Council of Ulema passed an edict banning the vaccine, citing the use of porcine enzymes. The Health Minister said that the country will not use the vaccines already purchased worth S$3 million.
Meanwhile the government of Singapore has seriously been considering the issue as the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) has also alerted to possible problems with the vaccine after clerics in Indonesia declared it haram or forbidden under Islamic law, as pork and pig-derived by-products are prohibited for Muslims, reported The Straits Times.
The Islamic Services of America (ISA) has approved Menveo as a halal vaccine manufactured by Novartis. After visiting Novartis plant based in Italy ISA has issued a certificate mentioning that “there are no additives or processing involving forbidden or suspicious ingredients” in Menveo. The Indonesian Council of Ulama has also issued halal certificate in favour of Novartis’s Menveo, in July 2010, which is the first conjugate vaccine commercially available in Europe as well, that helps protect meningitis against four major serogroups of Neisseria meningitides A, C, W135 and Y.
European Commission (EC) has also granted a Marketing Authorization for Menveo (Meningococcal Group A, C, W135 and Y conjugate vaccine) in all 27 European member states. Menveo was also approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on 21 February 2010.
Menveo vaccine is a conjugate vaccine but the previous one was polysaccharide vaccine that has lots of limitations. Like it is not effective for infants, it can’t immune memory and can’t ensure prolonged duration of protection. But Menveo vaccine is very much effective for the aforementioned. It not only protects but also prevents the carrier of the germs to be spread among others. The halal vaccine has a boosting and herd effect, and in repeated use it doesn’t lose power rather intensify it.
According to the Ministry of Hajj of Saudi Arabia 2927717 persons performed the holy hajj in 2011. While Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims were 1,05,608. This year around 1,20,000 Bangladeshis will perform hajj, according to official sources.
Every year millions of people from around 160 countries worldwide gather in Mecca for Umra and Hajj. The Hajj has become the epicenter of mass migration of millions of Muslims of enormous ethnic diversity. No other mass gathering can compare, either in scale or in regularity. Communicable diseases outbreaks of various infectious diseases have been reported repeatedly, during and following the Hajj. Therefore to protect the pilgrims from communicable diseases the Saudi government has made it mandatory for the pilgrims to take meningitis vaccine before arriving at the holy place. During Hajj, carrier rates for meningococcal disease rise to a level as high as 80% due to intense overcrowding, high humidity and dense air pollution (according to www.eurosurveillance.org). It should also be mentioned here that the meningitis belt of Sub-saharan Africa, stretching from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east has the highest rates of the disease. Therefore saving life is the foremost important for the host country. Besides, the Hajis might not be infected and become a carrier of such communicable diseases is also a great concern. And when there is an issue for haram and halal, the Muslims will accept the halal one- no doubt. Therefore it is expected that the government will also take necessary steps to provide halal conjugate vaccine for this year’s hajj pilgrims.

For further readings, please visit the following Links:
- www.healthxchange.com.sg/news/pages/Meningitis-vaccine), 24 July 2010
- “Meningitis Vaccine to be Reviewed: HAS study to Muis’ concern over alleged pig ingredients”, by Hoe Pei Shan
- http://www.hajj.gov.bd/
- http://newsystocks.com/news/3622089

- www.isahalal.org

- www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?Articleld=19671 (published on 30 September 2010, titled : The Hajj: communicable and non-communicable health hazards and current guidance for pilgrims.)

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For further readings, please visit the following Links:
- www.healthxchange.com.sg/news/pages/Meningitis-vaccine), 24 July 2010
- “Meningitis Vaccine to be Reviewed: HAS study to Muis’ concern over alleged pig ingredients”, by Hoe Pei Shan
- http://www.hajj.gov.bd/
- http://newsystocks.com/news/3622089

- www.isahalal.org

- www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?Articleld=19671 (published on 30 September 2010, titled : The Hajj: communicable and non-communicable health hazards and current guidance for pilgrims.)