Measles: Know the facts
Emergency six-week vaccination drive to be launched
It has been confirmed that 17 cases of measles have been reported in the Gauteng province, with 13 of them being in Johannesburg.
The Member of the Electoral Committee for the Gauteng Department of Health, Gwen Ramokgopa, said that these numbers mean that the province is officially experiencing a measles outbreak. “The outbreak is mainly in Johannesburg with 13 confirmed cases. Three were confirmed in Tshwane and one in the City of Ekhuruleni. The definition of an outbreak in public health terms for measles is where you have three laboratory confirmed cases,” she said.
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She prompted the Department of Health to embark on an awareness campaign following the increase in measles cases. In light of this, the City of Johannesburg will start a massive emergency measles vaccination campaign which will start on 15 May and end on 30 June.
The six week immunisation drive will target children aged from six months to 15 years in Early Childhood Development Centres (ECD), public and private schools, health facilities and pre-identified hotspots.
Consent forms will be given to the learners, and parents are urged to sign these forms and return them to the schools as soon as possible.
It is important to identify measles as soon as possible, as it can lead to complications if left untreated. The complications include blindness, pneumonia, inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) and in some cases, even death.
Signs and symptoms of measles:
• High fever
• Runny nose
• Coughing
• Teary eyes
• Feeling unwell
These symptoms will persist for three to five days before a rash will be noticed. The red or reddish-brown rash usually first shows up as flat red spots on the forehead before spreading to the rest of the face. After that it spreads down the neck and torso to the arms, legs, and feet. The fever and rash gradually go away after a few days.
Measles is a highly contagious disease and about 90 per cent of people who haven’t been vaccinated will contract it if they come into contact with an infected person. Measles spreads when people breathe in or have direct contact with virus-infected fluid, such as the droplets sprayed into the air by sneezing or coughing. A person who is exposed to the virus might not show symptoms until 8 to 10 days later. People with measles are contagious (can spread the disease) from four days before the rash appears until about four days after it disappears.
There is no specific treatment for measles, but you can ease the symptoms (which usually last for about two weeks) by doing the following:
• Drink plenty of fluids and get enough rest
• In the event of fever, take medication to reduce it (remember to never give aspirin to a child younger than 16 years)
• A person with measles should be closely monitored by a doctor, to prevent complications.
It is important to remember that measles can be prevented by vaccination.
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