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Measles outbreak report: SA finally winning the battle – NICD
The measles outbreak in South Africa has significantly declined, but the necessity for continued vigilance, vaccination, and accurate reporting remains critical.
In early April this year, the National Health Department declared measles outbreaks in eight provinces. Image: iStock
As the measles outbreak in South Africa continues to unfold, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) provided a situation report as of 10 August 2023.
This report, included below, gives an overview of the outbreak, and includes recent trends, a provincial breakdown, and the criteria for declaring the outbreak over.
It shows a marked decline in new measles cases. However, the NICD says continued vigilance should still be the order of the day.
Measles report
The NICD said it observed a significant reduction in measles cases.
The percentage of positive samples fluctuated, but the decline in submitted samples for testing reflects the overall reduction in cases.
The measles outbreak – which as spread across eight of South Africa’s nine provinces – is dwindling, with 1 130 confirmed cases out of 6 634 tested serum samples.
- Limpopo (still) leads the count with 516 cases
- North West: 218 cases
- Gauteng: 185 cases
- Mpumalanga: 113 cases
- Free State: 33 cases
- KwaZulu-Natal: 31
- Western Cape: 18
- Northern Cape: 7
READ: Measles outbreak: Hope on horizon, but work still needed – NICD
Provincial trends
In order to weather the oubreak completely, the NICD stressed the need for increased surveillance and complete vaccine status reporting.
Gauteng
Out of the 185 confirmed measles cases, 110 were reported in Ekurhuleni, 44 in Tshwane, 20 in Johannesburg, and 11 in the North West.
As per the NICD, the has been declared over in some regions.
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal reported 31 confirmed measles cases, with a majority in eThekwini Metro and iLembe during the 32nd week.
When is an outbreak over?
In order for an outbreak to come to an end, there should be an absence of new cases for over 42 days.
The NICD says this criterion has been met in Northern Cape, North West, and Free State provinces, with only sporadic cases reported.
Clinicians and healthcare workers must be vigilant in recognising and reporting measles cases and any adverse events following immunisation.
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