NICD confirms surge in Rubella cases
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases says its facing a significant surge in fever-rash samples for testing, indicating a pronounced increase in Rubella cases nationwide.
Dr Kerrigan McCarthy, the Pathologist at the Centre for Vaccines and Immunology (CVI) at the NICD, stated that an unprecedented number of rubella cases in 2024, surpassing the figures from fever-rash surveillance since 2015.
“As of week 40, over 8,700 IgM-positive cases have been identified. Notably, 98% (8543/8723) of these cases have affected children under 15, with the majority occurring in the 5-9 year age group,” said NICD spokesperson Vuyo Sabani.
The institute has attributed the surge to a large number of children entering 2024 without prior Rubella exposure or vaccination.
According to Dr McCarthy, three factors have led to a large number of children entering 2024 without rubella immunity. They are:
- Immunity to Rubella infection or rubella vaccination is lifelong. If children are not vaccinated against rubella and never come into contact with the rubella virus through natural infection, they will remain susceptible to Rubella.
- Vaccination against Rubella was separate from our routine EPI programme before 2024. The Department of Health (NDoH) 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 finishes its stock of measles-containing vaccine (MCV)
- The non-pharmaceutical interventions applied during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic interrupted the transmission of rubella. For 2020-2022, almost no rubella cases were identified from the NDoH/NICD fever-rash surveillance.
Rubella is a self-limiting infection that presents with fever and a maculopapular rash, myalgia, enlarged lymph nodes, headache, and conjunctivitis. Occasionally, persons may develop joint pain (arthralgia), low platelets, and mild encephalitis.
The latest increase in Rubella cases comes just over three months after health officials urged parents and caregivers to ensure their children are up to date with their vaccinations following an outbreak of the disease.
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