Cape Town — The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) revealed there has been a rubella outbreak in South Africa with cases more prominent in pregnant women and young children.
Rubella is an infection that causes a fever, rash, runny nose, red eyes and a cough.
The NICD said there is currently a surge in fever-rash samples being tested, signaling a significant rise in rubella cases across the country.
“South Africa is currently experiencing an outbreak of rubella infection, predominantly in children under the age of 10,” said NICD pathologist Dr Kerrigan McCarthy, according to EWN.
McCarthy said pregnant women should seek urgent attention should they come in contact with an infected person.
“The reason rubella is of concern is that infection in a pregnant woman who is in her first trimester may lead to a syndrome called congenital rubella syndrome. Foetuses infected with rubella while they are in utero may be born with congenital abnormalities,” she added.
According to the NICD, more than 8 700 cases have occurred in South Africa in 2024, up until the end of September 2024. To date, 98% of the cases were reported in children under 15 years of age, with the bulk coming in the 5-9 year age group.
“Presently, an estimated 6,000 samples are awaiting testing, including samples from week 40 (commencing 29 September 2024) onward. Whilst a seasonal increase in rubella cases is expected every year, usually occurring from September to December each year, the number of cases is much larger in 2024 compared with previous years,” it said.
The large number of rubella cases in 2024 is due to the fact that many children did not have any prior exposure to rubella. Three factors have led to this being the case.
- Immunity to rubella infection or rubella vaccination is lifelong. If children are not vaccinated against rubella, and never come into contact with rubella virus through natural infection, children will remain susceptible to rubella.
- Vaccination against rubella has not been not part of our routine EPI programme prior to 2024. The Department of Health is presently rolling out the combined measles-rubella-containing vaccine (MRCV), which will be administered to 6 and 12 months old children as soon as each province exhausts their stock of measles-containing vaccine (MCV)
- The non-pharmaceutical interventions that were applied during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic interrupted transmission of rubella, and for the period 2020-2022 there were almost no rubella cases identified from the NDoH/NICD fever-rash surveillance.
The NICD said the children aged between 5-14, who did not have the vaccine in the past 5 years, created an immunity gap, meaning a large number of children are susceptible to the infection. The NICD said the clinical aspects of rubella means persons may experience the standard symptoms, as well as myalgia, enlarged lymph nodes, headaches, and conjunctivitis.
Some may also experience arthralgia, low platelets and encephalitits. Guillian-Barre syndrome has also been reported in very instances. Rubella is of concern because of the risk of rubella infection in women of child-bearing age during the first trimester of pregnancy.
“However, rubella infection carries a risk of congenital rubella syndrome. Women who are pregnant in their first trimester and acquire rubella may pass the infection onto their fetus, who may develop congenital rubella syndrome (CRS),” it said.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
