Parents and guardians in the North West are encouraged to check their children’s ‘Road to Health’ booklet to make sure that their routine vaccinations are up to date.
This comes after the Centre for Vaccines and Immunology and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) recorded a measles outbreak in the Ngaka Modiri Molema District.
The North West Department of Health has been notified of three laboratory-confirmed measles cases with one “equivocal” case.
According to the provincial department, the specimens were collected at Lonely Park Clinic in Mahikeng sub-district on 2 December 2022.
The department said tracing is underway for patients who live in Signal Hill, while the province will continue to monitor developments through the online dashboard.
The provincial measles vaccination coverage is 79.4% for those who received the first dose and 82.3% for those who received their second shot.
“There is an outbreak of measles in South Africa and in Ngaka Modiri Molema District, which is easily prevented with the measles vaccine. The vaccine is usually given when children are six months and 12 months old, but you can get the vaccine at any age,” the department said.
According to the latest NICD report, from 1 September to 30 November 2022, 99 laboratory-confirmed measles cases were reported in Limpopo and Mpumalanga, with the provinces declaring a measles outbreak.
Data show that laboratory-confirmed measles cases in Limpopo increased to 77 and 22 in Mpumalanga.
The most affected districts in Limpopo are Greater Sekhukhune District, Mopani District and Waterberg District.
In Mpumalanga, increased laboratory-confirmed measles cases were logged in the Elukwatini area in the Gert Sibande District.
The ages of measles patients in Limpopo ranged from three months to 42 years old, while in the Ehlanzeni District in Mpumalanga, ages ranged from four months to 13 years old.
The most affected age group is the five to nine years age group in Mpumalanga, and one to four years in Limpopo.
In addition, three people, with laboratory-confirmed measles, were hospitalised and no measles deaths have been reported in Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
Measles patients present with fever, rash and one or more of these symptoms, including cough, red eyes and runny nose.
Complications of measles include pneumonia, diarrhoea, dehydration, encephalitis, blindness and death.
Measles complications are severe in malnourished children and young infants under two years of age.
People of any age who are unvaccinated can contract measles and develop the disease.
Clinicians and caregivers should be on alert for anyone presenting with the above-mentioned symptoms and signs, and check the ‘Road to Health’ booklets to ensure measles vaccinations are up to date.
In November, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said their report shows that measles vaccination coverage steadily declined since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the joint publication, a record high of nearly 40 million children missed a measles vaccine dose; 25 million of which missed their first dose and an additional 14.7 million children skipped their second dose in 2021.
