Umamah Bakharia | ub@radioislam.co.za

2 min read
3 February 2023 | 09:30 CAT

The National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) says it foresaw a rapid rise of measles cases in affected provinces in January.

Picture: Immunopedia

The infectious disease, commonly transmitted through children, has spread to five provinces with Limpopo recording the highest number of cases.

The NICD, and the Department of Health, first confirmed a measles outbreak in December 2022 after approximately 200 cases were recorded in the country.

The NICD has since urged residents to get vaccinated at their local clinics.

Forty-three new laboratory cases of measles were confirmed across South Africa since last week with a total of 469 cases since the outbreak.

This comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that during the COVID-19 pandemic halted measles immunisation protocols. Therefore the lack of attention on measles has resulted in a rise of cases worldwide.