The Health Ministry has given its assurance that medicines and vaccines dispensed to patients nationwide are halal and safe for use.

Health director-general, Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah described the excuse of some parents rejecting vaccines for their children based on allegations they were haram and contained porcine DNA as baseless.

"The Ministry however, does not compel the administering of vaccines but we encourage parents to get their children vaccinated as they have been proven to reduce the mortality rate of babies," he told a press conference after attending the 30th anniversary celebrations of Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital (HTAR) and the Selangor Research Day here Thursday.

Dr Noor Hisham said this when asked to comment on the anti-vaccine movement which is gathering momentum among some parents in the country.

Also present were Selangor Health director Dr S. Balachandran and HTAR director Dr Ding Lay Ming.

Deputy Health Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahya was earlier reported as saying that health clinic data showed the number of cases of vaccine rejection by parents had increased from 470 cases in 2013 to 1,292 cases (2014), and 1,054 cases as of May this year.

According to him, incidents involving vaccine preventable diseases in the country rose in the past three to five years, where the number of measles cases rose from 235 cases in 2014 to 539 cases as of September this year, while Pertisis (whooping cough) increased from 497 cases (2014) to 655 cases this year.

Meanwhile, Dr Noor Hisham, commenting on typhoid cases said since August this year, 59 cases had been recorded.