Measles Outbreak in KZN: Falling vaccination rates put children at risk
Amajuba currently has an active measles outbreak as provincial second-dose vaccination coverage remains below the 95% protection target.
With a measles outbreak active in Amajuba, and KwaZulu-Natal recording 93 confirmed cases this year, a medical expert is warning that falling vaccination rates are placing young children at risk.
Doctor Angelique Coetzee says 49 of the measles cases in the province are among children aged five to nine.
She says babies under one have the highest attack rate.
“Children with malnutrition or weakened immune systems are also at a greater risk of severe disease. And nationally, if you look at the national stats, children aged 1 to 14, they account for about 67% of confirmed cases, and infants under 1 already account for another 12%. So, it is higher in KZN.”
Vaccine hesitancy a concern
Coetzee says the real danger is that too many children are no longer receiving their vaccines.
KZN's second-dose measles vaccination coverage was just over 88 percent in the last provincial reporting period.
This is below the 95% needed to maintain protection.
Coetzee says part of the problem is that younger parents have never seen the devastating effects of diseases like measles because vaccines have been so successful.
“So people no longer appreciate what these diseases can actually do. Even from the World Health Organization and UNICEF, they specifically said that South Africa's average decline is also occurring in the context of structural changes and increased vaccine hesitancy. And even our DTP1 average has fallen markedly since 2019.”
Find us on social media
Follow the ECR Newswatch WhatsApp channel here
We are also on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter)