Umamah Bakharia | ub@radioislam.co.za

2 min read
24 November 2022 | 13:00 CAT

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has confirmed 58 cases of measles since September.

Photo credit: Stock

The cases were first detected at health facilities in the Fetakgomo-Tubatse area in the Sekhukhune district in Limpopo.

This comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are warning that measles is an “imminent threat” that is spreading across the world after the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to many children missing their routine vaccinations

According to the report, a record high of nearly 40 million children missed their measles vaccine dose in 2021 due to difficulties that were created by the COVID pandemic

Limpopo Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba says the rise in cases is concerning. She adds that the disease is almost 95% preventable through vaccination.

“When you look at the population of 100 000, and you can have cases which are 2 or more in the space of less than 14 days, then it is an outbreak,” she says.

Adding: “we are not going to wait, unlike other novel virus as we are moving towards the eradication of measles by 2030.”

Meanwhile, the NICD says it will continue testing and inform the public about case numbers.