South Africa has recorded 40 new laboratory-confirmed measles cases in the past week, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Friday.<\/P>
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According to the NICD, it has tested 5 335 serum samples for measles since the outbreak last year, 865 of which (16%) were confirmed positive.<\/P>
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Meanwhile, the public health institute said the percentage of samples testing positive (PTP) decreased from 22% of 255 samples tested in the previous week, compared to 14% of 214 samples last week.<\/P>
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Sporadic cases were reported in all nine provinces in South Africa in 2022.<\/P>
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However, as of 25 March 2023, measles outbreaks were declared in eight provinces, except for the Eastern Cape.<\/P>
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The outbreak was first declared in Limpopo in October 2022.<\/P>
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In the past week, the NICD said, no new cases were reported in Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, and Western Cape.<\/P>
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\u201cThe measles strain detected in Limpopo and the North West is genotype D8, similar to the strain in Zimbabwe in the 2022 outbreak,\u201d the institute said.<\/P>
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In the provinces, the most affected age groups are still the five to nine-year-olds (43%), with a considerable proportion of cases among children aged between one and four (24%) and those aged between 10 and 14 (19%).<\/P>
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The institution said vaccination campaigns should also include children aged 10 to 14.<\/P>
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Meanwhile, the majority of cases (68%) were reported from primary healthcare facilities, and the highest proportion of infections were detected in hospitals (55%) in children under the age of one.<\/P>
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According to the NICD, there are suggestions that the infection incidence is likely increasing.<\/P>
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In Limpopo, Greater Sekhukhune and Waterberg drive the peak, while Ekurhuleni Municipality pushes the numbers in Gauteng.<\/P>
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In contrast, the numbers in Mpumalanga and the North West suggest infection incidence is likely decreasing.<\/P>
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A virus in the paramyxovirus family, which infects the respiratory tract, and then spreads throughout the body, causes measles.<\/P>
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According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), measles is a human disease not known to occur in animals.<\/P>
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It can lead to major epidemics with significant morbidity and mortality, especially among vulnerable people.<\/P>
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These include young and malnourished children, pregnant women and immunocompromised individuals, including those with HIV, cancer or treated with immunosuppressive.<\/P>
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Measles can cause serious complications, including ear infections, severe diarrhoea, blindness, encephalitis, pneumonia, and death.<\/P>
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Members of the public are urged to ensure their children are vaccinated against measles. <\/P>
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Source: South African Government News Agency<\/P>
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