Durban – According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and the Department of Health the measles outbreak has been declared in all provinces in the country except for the Eastern Cape.
The department said of the 5 507 tests conducted since October 8, 2022, 911 (17%) were confirmed positive, with Limpopo currently leading in newly confirmed cases.
The recent numbers published by the departments indicate that Limpopo has 362 cases, North West 213, Gauteng 156, Mpumalanga 107, Free State 30, KwaZulu-Natal 18, Western Cape 12, Northern Cape 7 and Eastern Cape 6.
The NICD said there were no new cases reported in the Free State, KZN and Northern Cape provinces.
“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,” said the NICD.
Moreover, they said the most affected age groups are still the 5-9 years old with a considerable proportion of cases reported among the 1-4 (24%) and 10-14 age groups (19%). Vaccination campaigns should therefore also include children aged 10 to 14.
In a statement the NICD said the 68% of majority of cases were reported from primary health-care facilities, and the highest proportion of cases reported from hospitals (56%) was reported in children under the age of one. The NICD further urges members of the public to ensure that their children are vaccinated against measles.
The NICD added that nationally, the reproduction number as of March 22, 2023 was estimated to be 0.39 (0.14 – 0.9), suggesting that infection incidence is decreasing.
“There is a 97% chance that the reproduction number was below one as of 2023-03-22. At the provincial level, the reproduction number as of 2023-03-22 was estimated to be 0.97 (0.61 – 1.3) in Limpopo, suggesting that infection incidence is stable. In contrast, the reproduction number as of 2023-03-22 was estimated to be 0.69 (0.44 – 1) in Mpumalanga, 0.82 (0.47 – 1.1) in Gauteng, and 0.76 (0.49 – 1) in North West, suggesting that infection incidence is likely decreasing,” said the Nicd.
WhatsApp your views on this story at 071 485 7995.
Daily News