Measles-rubella rash surveillance continues to report an increase in clinical cases of suspected measles and rubella cases to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) for laboratory confirmation. Clinical cases reported were mostly in areas where rubella circulation started increasing in December 2023 and January 2024 after the measles outbreak.
Highlights
Measles Surveillance
- A total of 45 laboratory-confirmed measles cases were reported between epidemiological week 1 to week 13 of 2024 in South Africa. From epidemiological week 1 to week 13, Gauteng Province reported 18 measles cases, Mpumalanga Province eight (8) cases, Western Cape Province 9 cases, Eastern Cape Province 5 cases, Northern Cape Province four (4) cases, and Limpopo Province reported one case.
- Seven laboratory-confirmed measles cases were reported in Sedibeng district in Gauteng province from week 8 to week 12. Six of the seven measles cases reported in Sedibeng district were in the age group 5-9 years and one case was in the 10–14-year category. Four new laboratory-confirmed measles cases were reported in Western Cape province, two cases in the West Coast district, and one case reported in the City of Cape Town and the Cape Winelands. The Eastern Cape Province reported four measles cases in weeks 11 and 12, two cases in O R Tambo District and one case in Buffalo City and Sara Bartman District.
Rubella Surveillance
- A total of 326 laboratory-confirmed rubella cases have been reported in South Africa from week 1 to week 13 2024. Most laboratory-confirmed rubella cases in South Africa were reported in the Western Cape province (203 cases), while Northern Cape provinces and Eastern Cape provinces reported 71 and 40 cases respectively.
- Rubella cases have shown to increase in March 2024 in the Cape Winelands, which reported 15 cases, and in Garden Route and West Coast districts reporting 10 and 29 cases respectively.
- The number of laboratory-confirmed rubella cases remained high in the City of Cape Town with 36 cases in March 2024 alone bringing the number of rubella cases to 122 reported from week 1 to week 13 of 2024. In Northern Cape province, there was an increase in rubella cases reported in Pixley Ka Seeme district with an increase of 53 cases in March 2024 compared to 11 cases reported in February 2024. Twenty (20) rubella cases were reported from six districts in Eastern Cape province with O R Tambo and Chris Hani districts reporting seven (7) and five (5) cases each.
