Cape Town - The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has joined forces with Unicef and the WHO to tackle South Africa’s measles outbreak.
It has warned that further spread was possible because of the increased movement of people during the holiday season.
Front-line health and social workers, and community, faith and civil society leaders, as well as educators and early childhood development practitioners, have been advised to be on high alert for anyone showing symptoms, and to report it to the nearest health facility as soon as possible.
The NICD said the number of measles cases in the country continued to rise. Prevention and control of measles outbreaks could be achieved only through vaccination.
NICD’s data shows that the Western Cape has reported between one and 10 cases in the Cape Metro.
The NICD reported that health departments in the affected provinces had commenced or were planning immunisation campaigns.
Over Christmas, the NICD said, 227 cases of laboratory-confirmed measles cases had been reported across the country. The outbreak has been attributed to consistent lower than optimal vaccine coverage of routine measles doses.
Covid-19 further interrupted childhood vaccinations in South Africa but catch-up campaigns in late 2020 and 2021 helped recover levels to near pre-Covid-19 levels.
Following a measles alert sent out by the NICD earlier in the year, Mayco member for community services and health Patricia van der Ross said the metro had between 75% and 85% measles second-dose vaccination coverage.
The City provided a list of signs and symptoms to look out for, among them the first sign of measles, which is usually a high fever that begins about 10 to 12 days after exposure to the virus, and lasts four to seven days.
Other signs, such as a cough, red and watery eyes, a running nose and small white spots inside the cheeks, can develop in the initial stage.
After several days, a rash erupts, usually on the face and upper neck. The rash looks like small, red, flat spots over the body. The rash does not form blisters, nor is it itchy or painful.
Unicef said: “Most confirmed measles cases, 44%, are affecting 5- to 9-year-olds, with some 28% of cases among 1- to 4-year-olds and the remainder among people aged between 10 and 42 years.”
mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za