Issued by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases based on laboratory testing data
Highlights
- The NICD has tested 6490 serum samples for measles since epidemiological week 40, 2022, of which 1110 (17%) were confirmed positive. In the past week (week 26 up until week 27, 08/07/2023) there have been 10 laboratory-confirmed measles cases detected across the country, of which 5 cases are from Limpopo and 4 from Gauteng and 1 from KwaZulu-Natal.
- The percentage of samples testing positive (PTP) decreased from 31% (12/31) of samples tested in week 26 to 12.5 % (1/8) of samples tested in week 27.
- In week 26 (week ending 01/07/2023), Limpopo province reported a total of five new measles cases and Gauteng reported four cases, while a sporadic case was reported in the Western Cape.
- In week 26, of the five cases in Limpopo province, Waterberg recorded two (2) cases, Greater Sekhukhune one (1) and two (2) from Capricorn district. No cases from Limpopo were recorded in week 27.
- All the cases in Gauteng were detected in the City of Tshwane.
- To declare the measles outbreak over, the following criteria should be achieved: Absence of newly detected measles cases for more than two incubation periods (42 days). The criteria for declaring the measles outbreak over was met in the Northern Cape province in week 15, the North West province in week 24 and the Free State province in week 25. Sporadic cases are still seen in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.
Outbreak overview
From epidemiological week 40 2022 to week 27 2022, the NICD tested 6490 serum samples for measles of which 1110 (17%) were confirmed measles cases. From epidemiological week 40 of 2022 to week 27 of 2023, 1102 laboratory-confirmed cases were reported from eight provinces with declared measles outbreaks; Limpopo (510 cases), Mpumalanga (112 cases), North West (217 cases), Gauteng (184 cases), Free State (32 cases), Western Cape (17), KwaZulu-Natal (23) and Northern Cape (7). The number of blood samples and throat swabs submitted to the NICD for measles serology and PCR testing decreased from 31 in week 26 to 8 tests in week 27.
