South Africa’s measle outbreak has spread to Cape Town, with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) announcing on Wednesday that at least four laboratory-confirmed measles cases have been reported in the city over the past three weeks.
According to the NICD, the Cape Town cases were reported between 24 January and 17 February.
“Even though all the lab-confirmed measles cases were investigated, no epidemiological link could be established,” the NICD said.
The institute said a total of 560 cases have been detected in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Western Cape, North West, Gauteng and Free State provinces since the outbreak started late last year.
Measles is a highly infectious disease and spreads rapidly from person to person. People of any age who are not vaccinated are at risk of catching the disease, the NICD said.
The symptoms include fever, malaise, coughing, conjunctivitis and a running nose. Rashes could also appear on the face, neck, trunk and limbs, usually on day four of the illness, the institute said.
Other measles complications are pneumonia, scarring of the cornea and, rarely, encephalitis — an inflammation of the active tissues of the brain caused by an infection or an autoimmune response.
“The inflammation causes the brain to swell, which can lead to headache, stiff neck, sensitivity to light, mental confusion and seizures,” the agency said.
Measles vaccines are given routinely to infants from six to 12 months – but “it is never too late to vaccinate against measles,” the institute advised.
NM/jn/APA