Pretoria - The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has declared a measles outbreak in the North-West and Gauteng after both provinces reported three cases separately.
In North-West, the three cases were detected in the Ngaka Modiri Molema District, while in Gauteng they were reported at a single health facility in Ekurhuleni District.
SA Government News reported that the provincial department said the specimens were collected at Lonely Park Clinic in Mahikeng sub-district on 2 December and tracing is underway for patients who live in Signal Hill.
So far, the vaccination coverage is 79.4% for those who received the first dose and 82.3% for those who received their second shot.
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.
Meanwhile, Limpopo and Mpumalanga declared a measles outbreak after receiving reports of 99 laboratory-confirmed cases between September 1 and November 30, 2022, this is according to the most recent NICD data.
There were 22 instances of measles in Mpumalanga and 77 cases of the disease in Limpopo.
Greater Sekhukhune, Mopani, and Waterberg districts in Limpopo are the most severely impacted.
Increased laboratory-confirmed measles infections have been reported in Mpumalanga's Elukwatini region of the Gert Sibande District.
Patients with measles ranged from three months to 42-years-old in Limpopo, whereas it was four months to 13-years-old in Mpumalanga.
The most affected age group is the five to nine years age group in Mpumalanga, and one to four years in Limpopo.
IOL