Africa-Press – South-Africa. Gauteng health officials and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) are conducting measles awareness campaigns in schools after the province recorded five cases of the disease.
According to the NICD’s June communiqué, an outbreak was declared in the Tshwane metro after four cases were confirmed in children aged 10 to 17 who attended the same home-school facility. The disease infected three males and one female.
Another case was reported on the West Rand.
“One measles case detected in West Rand District was suspected to be linked to the Tshwane cases, but health authorities did not have epidemiological evidence to support the link. The measles vaccination status of all four cases was unknown,” the NICD.
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Measles is one of the diseases covered in the South African Expanded Programme on Immunisations (EPI) schedule. The vaccine is given at six months and repeated at 12 months.
The NICD said it was unclear whether the infected people had been vaccinated against the disease.
“The City of Tshwane and provincial health officials conducted public health investigations and responses for all laboratory-confirmed measles cases notified by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases. A measles vaccination campaign is under way at the schools where the measles outbreak occurred. Schools, crèches, and health facilities should be on alert for measles cases,” the NICD.
In 2017, there was an outbreak of measles in the Western Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, with 186 cases registered. In 2019, four Cape Town siblings who travelled to Georgia were confirmed to have the disease.
“Clinicians and caregivers should check children’s vaccination records to ensure measles vaccinations are up to date. It is never too late to vaccinate against measles. Measles is highly infectious and spreads rapidly from person to person. Unvaccinated persons of any age are at risk of measles,” the NICD said.
The symptoms of the disease include fever, rash, cough, conjunctivitis, and a runny nose.
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