Health Department urges immunization amid spike in Rubella cases

Vaccines play a crucial role in safeguarding public health by preventing diseases that can lead to severe illness, disability, or even death.

Despite longstanding recommendations for childhood immunizations, recent outbreaks of rubella in various provinces highlight the pressing need for increased vigilance.

The Department of Health is now strongly advising parents and caregivers to ensure their children are up-to-date with their vaccinations to curb the spread of this preventable disease.

According to The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) There has been a notable increase in rubella cases in Gauteng, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

According to the World Health Organisation Rubella is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus. It spreads easily when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Most children and adults who get rubella have a mild fever and rash.

When a woman is infected with the rubella virus early in pregnancy, she has a 90% chance of passing the virus on to her fetus. Rubella in pregnancy, especially during the first trimester, can result in miscarriage, stillbirth or infants with congenital malformations known as congenital rubella syndrome (CRS).

Being vaccinated is the best way to prevent getting sick with rubella or spreading it to other people. The vaccine is safe and helps your body fight off the virus.

According to the Health Department, the rubella incubation period is fourteen to twenty one days. In recent weeks the department has reportedly been inundated with enquiries following the closure of schools in the Northern Cape following an outbreak of rubella among students.

The department recommends taking proactive and effective measures to prevent further spread of the disease, but school closures should only be considered as a last resort once all other options have been exhausted.

Furthermore, the department advised that rubella-infected children should be treated symptomatically and remain home until they have recovered from symptoms including nausea, sore throats, red eyes, and swollen lymph nodes.

Health facilities or healthcare providers should report suspected rubella cases to the department utilizing the Notifiable Medical Conditions reporting platforms.

Meanwhile, the department is currently implementing the expanded immunization program for measles-rubella.

The department says that this combined vaccination replaces the standalone measles vaccine, which is administered between 6 and 12 months old.

In the private sector, rubella protection is part of the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine, usually administered from 12 to 15 months old.