Provincial health departments have assured South Africans that the Rubella outbreak across the country will not be the Grinch that steals Christmas. They have however urged the public to present themselves or loved ones with suspected symptoms at health facilities without delays for early detection, effective treatment and to prevent further transmission.
The latest figures from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), show that 10 137 positive cases of Rubella were identified in the country between January and November, which is higher than the number recorded last year.
A pathologist at the NICD’s Centre for Vaccines and Immunology, Dr Kerrigan McCarthy said Rubella is a mild, self-limiting viral infection that presents with fever, rash, sometimes with redness of the eyes (conjunctivitis) and swollen glands (lymphadenopathy) around the neck and head. He said there are rarely complications in children. However, if a pregnant woman is infected with the virus, she may pass the infection on to the foetus, and this may result in congenital abnormalities with the heart, eyes and ears leading to blindness and deafness, a condition known as ‘congenital Rubella syndrome’.
McCarthy said fortunately almost all women are immune to the virus once they reach child-bearing age and it’s rare that infants are born with congenital Rubella syndrome. Most of the cases were recorded in Gauteng (2 603), KZN (2 000) and the Western Cape (1 338). But McCarthy said numbers will change as the backlog of testing is completed.
More than 90% of all the cases are in children younger than 15 years accounting for more than 8 300 of the positive tests, with only one patient over the age of 50 years testing positive. .
“Around 98% of persons, 20 years and above, are immune to Rubella, either through natural infection, or through vaccination procured in the private sector when they were infants. There is almost no risk to adults for acute Rubella unless they are unlucky enough to be in the 2% that avoided rubella infection as a child. There is an exceedingly small risk that a pregnant woman who is not immune may contract Rubella during her first trimester of pregnancy. All women wanting to conceive should check their rubella antibody status by requesting their health care worker to do a test,” McCarthy added.
He said the risk of transmission remains high amongst children, especially because many children entered 2024 without prior exposure to Rubella, or without being vaccinated against the virus.
The NCID warned that if children are not vaccinated against Rubella, and never come into contact with the virus through natural infection, they will remain susceptible to it.
The disease spreads from person to person through droplets coughed or sneezed into the air by an infected person. Children and pregnant women are at a higher risk of severe health complications.
“ Parents and caregivers are urged to closely keep an eye on the health condition of their children and look out for common symptoms which include rash, fever, sore throat, headache, cough, runny nose, swollen lymph nodes in the neck and nausea. Symptoms develop 2 to 3 weeks after exposure,” the institute said.
The KwaZulu-natal Health Department said that most cases of Rubella which is also known as German measles occurred in the Harry Gwala District with about 400 patients, followed by Ugu District with 390 and eThekwini with just over 300 cases.
Spokesman Nathi Olifant said that Rubella or German measles can be dangerous to pregnant women but presents with mild symptoms in children.
The Independent on Saturday understands that most of those infected were between 5 -9 while the highest number of cases were among men.
The Gauteng Health Department said public healthcare facilities will remain accessible throughout the festive season. Spokesperson, Motalatale Modiba said all health facilities are ensuring that daily routine immunization services are rendered according to the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) schedule which includes Measles Rubella Vaccines.
“Every day is an Immunisation Day. Facilities have been alerted to notify the Provincial and District EPI and Surveillance Sub-Directorate telephonically and in writing of the Suspected Measles Cases (SMS) and Suspected Rubella Case (SRC) detected for investigation.District health offices are investigating all reported suspected Measles and Rubella cases. All close contacts of suspected or confirmed Measles cases are traced and immunised with Measles and Rubella vaccines. And
communication has been drafted to communities to educate them on airborne infection precautions and signs and symptoms of measles and rubella.
Response,” Modiba said.
The Western Cape health Department said: “Presently, the increase in Rubella cases is occurring across the country, with all provinces affected. The number of cases being reported per week from the Western Cape Province appears lower than other provinces, but the increase has been ongoing in that province since April 2024. As there is a large backlog of tests at the NICD, the number of cases across the country is expected to rise as samples are tested.”
Saturday Star