Health Reporter.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has announced the detection of eight new laboratory-confirmed measles cases in South Africa, with five of the cases being reported in Limpopo.
The NICD has been actively monitoring the measles outbreak, which was declared in October of last year in all provinces except for the Eastern Cape.
Since the outbreak was declared, the NICD has conducted tests on 5,853 serum samples for measles, and 976 of these samples were confirmed to be positive for the disease.
These latest confirmed cases serve as a reminder of the ongoing need for vigilance in preventing and containing the spread of measles.
Measles is a highly contagious viral disease that spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Symptoms of the disease include fever, cough, runny nose, and a characteristic rash that typically appears three to five days after the onset of symptoms.
Measles can be prevented through vaccination, which is highly effective and recommended for all children. However, low vaccination rates and inadequate healthcare infrastructure in some areas have contributed to the ongoing outbreaks in South Africa.
The NICD has emphasized the importance of maintaining high vaccination coverage rates and implementing effective surveillance and control measures to prevent the further spread of the disease. As the country continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical to ensure that essential public health services, including vaccination programs, are maintained to prevent the resurgence of other infectious diseases such as measles.
Children over the age of six months to 15 years are targeted in the National supplemental immunisation campaign rolled out in all provinces on 6 February 2023.
“The NICD continues to report on a large number of cases with unknown vaccination status. We urge the district and province to complete vaccine status on the investigation forms for completeness of data.”
Clinicians across the country are urged to be on the lookout for measles cases.