Johannesburg, June 18 (IANS) South Africa’s Gauteng Department of Health announced on Wednesday that it has observed a surge in measles cases since January this year, with laboratory-confirmed cases now standing at 181.

“The outbreak remains active in specific hotspot areas, including Mamelodi and Winterveld in Tshwane, where 35 and 10 cases have been reported, respectively,” said Motalatale Modiba, spokesperson for the health department, Xinhua news agency reported.

The outbreak, reported across Gauteng Province, including Tshwane, Johannesburg, and Ekurhuleni, has prompted the department to intensify its response, particularly by rolling out vaccinations at schools.

Modiba noted that so far, over 18,000 students have been vaccinated in more than 15 schools in Mamelodi and 16 schools in Winterveld.

Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, a member of the Executive Council for Health and Wellness in Gauteng Province, has urged communities and parents to heed the call of vaccination.

“We must close the immunity gap in our communities and prevent further spread of the highly contagious diseases, particularly measles and rubella,” she said.

Earlier, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases reported in March that South Africa registered 931 laboratory-confirmed measles cases across all 52 epidemiological weeks of 2024.

The measles outbreak in the South African region has been of public health concern, affecting most provinces in the region since October 2022.

Children under 14 account for most cases (86 per cent), with the highest rates in the 1–4 and 5–9 age groups.

The vaccination status of most cases is unknown, but only 10 per cent of confirmed cases received at least one dose of the measles-containing vaccine.

The national immunisation coverage for both MCV1 and MCV2 was estimated at 86 per cent in 2022.

The WHO considers the national risk high, the regional risk moderate, and the global risk low.

–IANS

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