NewsDesk @bactiman63

The South Africa National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) reported recently that the number of confirmed measles positive cases has topped 900.

Image/NICD

Since the outbreak started in October 2022, 905 cases have been reported in outbreak-affected provinces [Limpopo (362 cases), Mpumalanga (107 cases), North West (213 cases), Gauteng (156 cases), Free State (30 cases), Western Cape (12), KwaZulu-Natal (18) and Northern Cape (7)] and 911 cases in total nationally.

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Measles outbreak has been declared in all the provinces in South Africa except for the Eastern.

The measles strain detected in Limpopo province and North West province is genotype D8 which is similar to the strain in Zimbabwe in the 2022 outbreak.

In the provinces where an outbreak has been declared, the most affected age groups are still the 5-9 year olds (43%) with a considerable proportion of cases reported among the 1-4 (24%) and 10-14 age groups (19%).

Members of the public are urged to ensure their children are vaccinated against measles.