Johannesburg - The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has warned that measles cases in South Africa are continuing to rise.
The institute announced on Thursday that in total, 169 cases of laboratory-confirmed measles cases have been reported from October 11 to December 7 in North West, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, and Gauteng.
According to the NICD, an outbreak was declared in Gauteng on December 6 after three laboratory-confirmed cases were reported at a single health facility in the Ekurhuleni district.
The institute said these three cases fell into the 5-9 year age group and all three cases had an unknown vaccination status.
“A case was reported in early October in Ekurhuleni district in a different area that was not epidemiologically linked to the other three cases. In total eight cases have been reported since week 40, all with unknown vaccination statuses,” the NICD said.
The institute said it was imperative to know the signs and symptoms.
"Measles patients present with fever, rash, and one or more of these symptoms: cough, red eyes, and runny nose.
“Complications of measles include pneumonia, diarrhoea, dehydration, encephalitis, blindness, and death," the NICD said.
"Measles complications are severe in malnourished children and young infants under two years of age. Clinicians and caregivers should be on alert for anyone presenting with the aforementioned signs and symptoms," the NICD said.
It added that the public health response to the measles outbreak in provinces should target improving measles immunity in all affected provinces.
"Routine immunisation should be reinforced as the outbreak is an opportunity to identify and correct vaccination programme weaknesses," the NICD said.
The Star