40 new measles cases has Health Dept worried
The Department of Health has expressed concern over the number of measles cases in the country.
South Africa has recorded 40 new confirmed measles cases in the past week.
This was revealed by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), which has tested over 5 300 serum samples since the outbreak in October last year.
Of these samples, 865 were confirmed positive.
The NICD says the most affected age groups are the five to nine-year-olds.
Dr Lesley Bamford, a Specialist in Child, Youth and School Health within the department, is encouraging parents to get their children vaccinated against the disease.
"We don't want any cases of measles. Many people who have measles particularly young children, they can develop complications and it can become a very serious disease that requires hospitalisation and can even result in death. We are concerned and that is why we have ramped up vaccination in response," said Bamford.
She says KZN has also recorded a few cases.
"The total that has been reported in the province since October last year, when the outbreak was declared in KwaZulu-Natal is 18 cases."
