NICD confirms mumps outbreak in South Africa
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases has confirmed an outbreak of mumps in the country.
The viral infection, caused by the rubulavirus predominantly affects children between the ages of five and nine, but can be avoided through vaccination.
Mumps cause painful swelling of the parotid and/or salivary glands and is generally a mild childhood disease.
In a statement on Thursday, the NICD stated that mumps reporting had been inconsistent and limited reports on mumps epidemiology as it is not classified as a notifiable medical condition (NMC) and is not included in any formal surveillance programme.
“Since February 2023, the NICD has received a number of queries related to possible clusters or outbreaks of mumps in different provinces.
“To confirm the existence of an outbreak of mumps, national public sector laboratory test data for mumps PCR positives and IgM positives over the period 2013 to current, was requested from the NICD surveillance data warehouse and analysed as an ad hoc surveillance activity.”
According to the NICD, recent data shows unexpected, steady increases in positive tests, with KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Gauteng accounting for the majority which constitutes an outbreak.
“To limit transmission during an outbreak, in countries where mumps vaccination is universally available, public health authorities may recommend an additional dose of the combination measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine for people who belong to groups at increased risk for getting mumps,” said the NICD.
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