Somali Muslims in Minnesota balk at giving children cures for measles
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Health officials struggling to contain a measles outbreak that's hit Minneapolis' large Somali community are running into resistance from parents who fear the vaccine could give their children autism.So not only do some superstitions run amok with this community's that's adhering to Muhammed's horrific teachings, they're even associating themselves with one of the worst products of Britain's PC movement. Measles aren't that common today thanks to better medicine, but this suggests that, if some Muslim communities maintain a terrible notion of health care, then this is the result.
Fourteen confirmed measles cases have been reported in Minnesota since February. Half have been in Somali children. Six of them were not vaccinated, and one was not old enough for shots. State officials have linked all but one of the cases to an unvaccinated Somali infant who returned from a trip to Kenya in February.
Amid the outbreak, a now-discredited British researcher who claimed there was a link between vaccines and autism has been meeting with local Somalis. Some worry Andrew Wakefield is stoking vaccination fears, though organizers say the meetings are merely a chance for parents to ask him questions.
Labels: Africa, islam, Somalia, United States