The provincial Department of Health’s acting spokesperson, Elke de Witt, says the affected patients are currently receiving treatment.  

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease which is caused by the measles virus. It spreads from person to person through close respiratory contact. “It usually takes 10 to 14 days after exposure to a person with measles before the first symptoms develop,”  says De Witt.

She shares the signs and symptoms that people should be on the lookout for:

• a cough, 
• tiredness, 
• coryza (inflammation of the inside of the nose), 
• fever, 
• conjunctivitis (inflammation of the eyes), 
• and a red rash. 

Other symptoms can include a sore mouth, diarrhoea, vomiting and poor appetite. 

Measles is a viral infection that can spread easily. 

It is a highly contagious respiratory disease that causes serious complications such as pneumonia, hospitalisation, swelling of the brain and death.

ALSO READ: Parents urged to immunise children against measles

Meanwhile, the North West Department of Health has also encouraged all parents and guardians to immunise their children against measles, as the number of cases has increased to 36 active cases in the province. 

The department’s spokesperson, Tebogo Lekgethwane, says the department has undertaken outreach campaigns across the province to try and immunise those eligible for immunisation. 

He adds that immunisation is available for children aged six months to 15 years of age, and parents are urged to visit  health centres as the disease can prove to be fatal in certain instances. 

The department says the highest death rate occurs in infants aged six to 11 months, with a death rate as high as 20% or 30% in certain high-risk areas. 

OFM News