The number of measles cases in the country continues to rise, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Thursday.
The institute said that from the week ending October 8 to the week ending January 7, 357 laboratory-confirmed cases were reported from five provinces with declared measles outbreaks in Limpopo (140 cases), Mpumalanga (75 cases), North West (114 cases), Gauteng (16 cases) and Free State (12 cases).
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It said the ages of laboratory-confirmed cases across the five provinces ranged from two months to 42 years. It said the majority of cases (146) were in the five to nine years age group, followed by 105 in the one to four age group and 57 in the 10-14 age group.
The NICD said with schools opening in the second week of January, there was a need for vigilance to identify and respond rapidly to cases in school or crèche environments.
“Important to note, the planned vaccination campaigns should continue with the same urgency, despite the decrease in cases in recent weeks,” the NICD said. It said prevention and control of measles outbreaks can only be achieved through vaccination.
“Caregivers and parents are advised to review their child’s vaccination records and confirm that they have received measles vaccines.”
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