Cape Town - The Western Cape Department of Health has reminded parents, guardians and caregivers to vaccinate their children against measles.
This as the outbreak in all the provinces in South Africa, except for the Eastern Cape, continues.
The laboratory confirmed measles cases in the Western Cape stands at 10, which have all been reported in the Cape Town metropolitan district.
According to the provincial health department, a total of 420 097 measles vaccines have been administered with 16 012 vaccines being administered by private pharmacies, clinics and healthcare providers.
This translates to 24% of the 1 727 392 children under the age of 15 that the department has aimed to vaccinate by March 31.
Co-ordinator of the Western Cape’s expanded programme on immunisation, Sonia Botha said: “While we make progress with uptake in certain districts in the province, the next two weeks will be important to ensure we reach many more children and provide them with this potentially life-saving vaccine to avoid any complications from the measles disease. We are also pleased with the support from parents, including the Muslim community, towards our integrated school-based immunisation programme.”
The province said blood samples were routinely collected from suspected measles cases, which meet the case definition of a rash, fever and one of the “Cs” – cough, coryza and conjunctivitis.
Akiefa Lewis, 25, who took her 5-year-old son Abdul Qadir to get his measles vaccine, said: “I brought my son for the measles injection because of all the viruses in the community and to protect him from getting really sick.”
Tasneem Lewis, 29, who took her 3-year-old Noorjahan, said: “I know that the measles virus can be very dangerous, and my daughter gets ill very quickly, that is why I chose to immunise her for her own safety.”
The Western Cape said it acknowledged religious concerns from the Muslim community that the only measles vaccine available in the public sector, MeasBio® (Biovac), contains porcine gelatin.
“However, both the Muslim Judicial Council and the Islamic Medical Association of South Africa, concluded that the transformation of pork products into gelatin alters it sufficiently to make it permissible for Muslims to receive vaccines,” the department said.
Cape Times