South Africa has eight new laboratory-confirmed measles cases, five of which were detected in Limpopo, said the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) on Friday.
According to the latest data, the national public health institute tested 5 853 serum samples for measles since the outbreak was declared in October last year in all the provinces in South Africa, except for the Eastern Cape. Of these, 976 were confirmed positive.
“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.”
Limpopo has recorded 410 cases, 108 in Mpumalanga, 216 in the North West, 166 in Gauteng, 29 in Free State, 20 in KwaZulu-Natal, 14 in the Western Cape, and seven in the Northern Cape.
In addition, in the provinces where an outbreak has been declared, the most affected age groups are still the five to nine-year-olds (43%), with a considerable proportion of cases reported among the one to four-year-olds and 10 to 14 age groups (20%).
Overall, the NICD said the incidence of measles appears to be decreasing across the country.
“However, Limpopo has remained stable and largely contributed to the increased number of cases seen in the previous week. Continuous surveillance for measles cases is recommended,” said the Institute.
The NICD said prevention and control of measles outbreaks can only be achieved through vaccination.
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