NATIONAL NEWS - Gauteng Department of Health (GDH) is planning several outreach programmes to create awareness and encourage parents and caregivers to ensure that their children are immunised against measles.
This after the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) recorded 397 confirmed measles cases between October and 14 January.
The province has recorded 18 cases since a national measles outbreak was declared in October 2022. Four of the 18 were reported in the Tshwane district.
Gauteng MEC for Health Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko says the department is conducting a province-wide measles outbreak response vaccination campaign targeting children from six months to 15-years-old.
The vaccination campaign for measles is taking place in health facilities from Mondays to Fridays and will run until the third week of February.
“As of January 6, more than 43 000 children have been vaccinated in the health facilities to protect them against measles,” she says.
She says her department will be working with the Department of Education to roll out a measles vaccination programme to early childhood development centres and schools.
“Parents and guardians are urged to sign consent forms so that their children can be vaccinated,” she says.
Nkomo-Ralehoko says children need to bring their Road to Health booklet on the day of vaccination.
City of Tshwane MMC for Health Rina Marx says the city implemented a measles vaccination campaign as a preventative measure, targeting children from the ages of six months to 15 in late December 2022.
“In addition to this, the city launched an awareness campaign to mobilise and keep communities informed through local radio stations and social media,” she says.
Photo: NICD
Although there is no measles ‘cluster outbreak’ in Tshwane, the municipality’s health department encouraged parents to have their children vaccinated.
Earlier this month Marx said the NICD has indicated that the current measles outbreak in South Africa is due to low vaccine coverage.
Measles is a highly contagious but preventable disease.
Symptoms include fever and a rash, cough, conjunctivitis (red eyes) and coryza (running nose). Complications can include diarrhoea, dehydration, brain infection (encephalitis), blindness and even death.
Measles complications are more severe in young infants who are under two years of age and in children who are malnourished.
“I would like to assure our residents that the situation is being closely monitored and our outbreak response teams stand ready to manage the situation and mitigate the spread as far as possible,” said Marx.
