The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has issued a warning about the measles outbreak, which has now spread from Limpopo to Mpumalanga.
The outbreak started in the Sekhukhune district municipality of Limpopo, and since September, the NICD has recorded 57 cases in Limpopo and Mpumalanga. News24 reports that it has recently made an appearance in the Capricorn and Waterberg districts in Limpopo as well as Ehlanzeni in Mpumalanga.
The Vhembe district in Limpopo has reported two laboratory-confirmed measles cases, one of which has been linked to the outbreak in neighbouring Zimbabwe.
According to the NICD, Limpopo has the highest number of cases at 52. "In the past seven days, four laboratory-confirmed measles cases were reported in the Bushbuckridge area of Ehlanzeni district in Mpumalanga Province."
Ehlanzeni district shares a border with Greater Sekhukhune and the Mopani districts, the first regions to declare measles outbreaks.
"The spread of cases in Limpopo Province and Ehlanzeni district, Mpumalanga Province, poses the risk of measles spread. Sporadic cases have been reported in Northern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, Free State and the Western Cape," said the NICD, advising that all patients' contacts be traced and vaccinated against the disease.
"To prevent the spread in other provinces, the sporadic case contacts should be traced and given measles vaccine doses as per the National Measles Surveillance Guidelines."
Thus far, the youngest case is six-months-old and the oldest, 42. The NICD said the vaccination status of 86% of the patients is unknown.
News24 article – Wider outbreak feared as measles spreads to Mpumalanga (Open access)
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Limpopo measles cases increase
NICD declares measles outbreak in Limpopo
South Africa ‘on the cusp’ of a major measles outbreak, say experts