Focus on mumps outbreak in South Africa

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases recently announced an unexpected and steady increase in mumps, an acute viral infection caused by the rubulavirus, also known as the mumps virus. Cluster outbreaks have been noted in different provinces, with KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Mpumalanga accounting for the majority of the outbreaks. The Department of Health has urged the public not to panic over the outbreaks, which mostly affect children between the ages of 5 to 9 years old. However, younger and older children, as well as adults, can become infected. To give us an update, we are joined by Dr Michelle Groome, Head of the Division for Public Health Surveillance and Response at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.

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