By Zuko Komisa
- South Africa has recorded 3,462 confirmed measles cases since January 2026, primarily affecting children aged one to 14.
- Outbreaks across multiple provinces follow a sharp drop in routine childhood immunisation coverage nation-wide.
- Health officials warn that unvaccinated infants under one year old have effectively tripled since 2017.
South Africa is facing a severe public health crisis after recording 3,462 laboratory-confirmed measles cases since the start of the year. Active outbreaks have hit the Western Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, and Northern Cape, with children aged between one and 14 accounting for nearly 71 per cent of all infections.
Department of Health spokesperson Foster Mohale warned that the surge is directly tied to a steep decline in routine childhood immunisations, leaving hundreds of thousands of infants unprotected.
Data from the department shows that the proportion of completely unvaccinated infants under one year old surged from 12.1 per cent in 2017 to an alarming 36.3 per cent between January and April this year.
First dose coverage among infants plummeted from 87 per cent in 2021 to 67 per cent in 2025, whilst coverage for the critical hexavalent vaccine dropped to 60.5 per cent. Officials caution that South Africa is now unlikely to meet the World Health Organization’s 90 per cent target without immediate intervention.
Highlighting the gravity of the situation, the Department of Health issued a stark warning regarding the ongoing national spread:
“The decline in routine immunisation rates has created a public health emergency characterised by childhood disease outbreaks. This is no longer a theoretical risk because active outbreaks are occurring in multiple provinces across the country.”
The breakdown in herd immunity extends beyond measles. Health authorities have recorded almost 400 rubella cases, sporadic instances of diphtheria, and pertussis cases affecting vulnerable infants under six months. Though South Africa has maintained its polio-free status since 2014, imported strains were recently detected in Cape Town wastewater.
The Department of Health is urging parents and caregivers to bring unvaccinated children to local clinic facilities immediately to receive catch-up immunisations and stem further outbreaks.
READ NEXT:
