In line with the World Health Organisation International Health Regulations, an outbreak is defined as three or more confirmed measles cases in a health facility, district, or sub-district within one month.
Last week, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) reported the number of cases had climbed past 600 as the government began a nationwide vaccination campaign.
Vaccination programmes for children have been disrupted by the Coronavirus pandemic, contributing to the outbreak.
In spite of this, NICD specialist pathologist Kerrigan McCarthy points out that most of the cases are among older children and young teenagers, which suggests that SA’s immunization coverage was lacking before Covid-19 struck.
The outbreak is primarily affecting children between the ages of 5 and 9, children over ten, teenagers, and adults whose immunity has waned are also susceptible to infection.
A total of 10 123 300 doses were procured by provinces in order to reach its 16,3 million target population, according to health minister Joe Phaahla.