NICD adds 269 measles confirmations, taking tally to 5,306

South Africa’s laboratory-confirmed measles tally has reached 5,306 in a surveillance update published by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases on Friday, with 269 cases added since its previous report.

The figures cover 29 December 2025 to 20 September 2026, using data accessed on 23 September. They are not a count of infections that occurred on Friday.

The NICD said most of the additions came from samples collected during the preceding reporting week that reached laboratories late.

The Free State accounted for 57 of the additional confirmations, followed by Limpopo with 50 and the Northern Cape with 47. KwaZulu-Natal added 35, North West 24, Gauteng 20, Mpumalanga 19, Western Cape 15 and Eastern Cape two.

The institute urged clinicians to strengthen case detection, laboratory testing and contact tracing. It also called for stronger community engagement to support vaccination.

Its separate rubella tally remained at 595 laboratory-confirmed cases, with no additions since the previous report. That total covers a different period, ending on 6 September.

The World Health Organization describes measles as a highly contagious airborne disease that can spread when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. Symptoms include fever, coughing, a runny nose and a widespread rash.

Although anyone without immunity can become infected, serious complications are especially common in young children. They can include pneumonia, brain inflammation, severe diarrhoea and blindness.

WHO says vaccination is the most effective prevention measure and recommends two doses of measles-containing vaccine for children. Routine immunisation and outbreak vaccination campaigns are both important to reducing illness and deaths.

File image: Colourised transmission electron micrograph of a measles virus particle. Microscopy: CDC; colourisation and layout: NIAID / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. Archival laboratory image, not a specimen from the South African outbreak. Displayed crop.