MEASLES OUTBREAK IN THE FREE STATE – VACCINATION TO BE INTENSIFIED

In the light of the fact that the Thabo Mofutsanyana district has presented with the highest number of measles cases, a pro-active decision has been taken to start vaccinating all children in that district between the ages of 6 months to 15 years with immediate effect. The Department has prioritised this and will not wait for the National Measles Campaign which takes place between 06-20 February 2023. This is to combat the surge of measles cases in the province.

The Department of Health has activated their school health teams and vaccinators will visit schools and child care centres in and around Bethlehem. Parents are requested to assist the teams and provide consent for vaccination at the schools and centres visited.

The Department of Education has been put on alert of the campaign and educators were requested to be on alert for learners who are presenting with symptoms (fever -38C, general rash, any of the following cough, runny nose and redness of the eyes). The relevant health authority/facility must be informed.

In another step, contact tracing and screening of affected children is being done by the district disease outbreak response teams to manage the outbreak in the affected towns (Bethlehem).  Contacts that are without symptoms are being vaccinated. Community surveillance is strengthened to identity cases in the communities.

Other steps taken to address the outbreak is to intensify community education regarding adherence to Routine Immunization Schedule, and alerts have been issued to facilities to intensify identification of cases. District health services in Thabo Mofutsanyana are working with municipal environmental health officers during community education on the signs and symptoms and to strengthen health education.

Currently there are 12 active cases in the Free State.  An additional case was initially allocated to the Free State but after consultation with the NCID (National Institute of Communicable Diseases) the number was confirmed as 12. The initial outbreak occurred in Thabo Mofutsanyana (Bethlehem – 9) with measles now being reported in Xhariep (1 – Springfontein), Fezile Dabi (1 – Frankfort) and in Lejweleputswa (1 – Welkom). All of the cases reported occurred in children under five years old.

Issued by Ms Elke de Witt Acting Spokesperson for Free State Department of Health