A measles outbreak has been declared in Limpopo by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) – an outbreak classified as three lab-confirmed cases reported within 30 days in one district – and parents have been urged to vaccinate their children as soon as possible.
The cases were reported in the Sekhukhune district, the first two being in September (one was an 11-year-old child and the second, a one-year-old). The third case was detected on 2 October, in an 11-month-old baby, reports News24.
The NICD said a public health response investigation was needed to “identify new measles cases and vaccination of the contacts to prevent the spread of the disease”.
Two of the children are unvaccinated against the disease, while the vaccination status of the third child is unknown. To prevent further spread, a vaccination drive was conducted in the area, and by 7 October, 2 052 children had been jabbed in the Fetakgomo Tubatse and Elias Motsoaledi local municipalities, where the cases were detected.
The NICD said large measles outbreaks were occurring in sub-Saharan Africa, and the public was urged to be on the alert, as complications of the illness were pneumonia, scarring of the cornea, and rarely, encephalitis.
The NICD warned that the disease was highly infectious and spread rapidly from person to person and that although measles vaccines are given routinely at six and 12 months of age, “it is never too late to vaccinate”.
News24 article – Measles outbreak declared in Limpopo’s Sekhukhune district (Open access)
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