Another four cases of measles have been reported in the Greater Sekhukhune District Municipality in Limpopo, bringing the total to seven, in people aged between nine months and 24 years, said the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) on Monday.
“One child was fully vaccinated for measles, with two… doses given in 2019. One child with measles had not been vaccinated, and the other five cases had unknown vaccination histories,” according to the NICD, adding that one of the cases had been admitted to hospital and another had a complication that led to pneumonia.
In a News24 report, the NICD said the measles immunisation coverage data for the district showed a decrease of 87% to 64% for measles dose one, and 86% to 60% for measles dose two from 2017 to 2022.
It said this was below the 95% coverage needed to achieve herd immunity.
“A survey is being done to validate the vaccination data provided to the province and investigate factors that might be contributing to the outbreak. Community awareness and health promotion is continuing, and vaccination has been initiated for children under 15 to increase immunity and to prevent the further spread.”
Complications of measles include diarrhoea, dehydration, brain infection, blindness and death. People of any age who are not vaccinated can catch measles.
News24 article – Four new cases reported in Limpopo measles outbreak
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