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- There have been 280 cases of mumps in KwaZulu-Natal – 48% of all cases.
- The National Institute for Communicable Diseases says there have been 580 cases across the country since the start of the year.
- However, data may be incomplete due to delays in testing.
Almost half of all mumps cases since the start of the year have been recorded in KwaZulu-Natal.
However, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has cautioned that its data may be incomplete due to delays in testing.
The NICD confirmed a mumps outbreak in the country last month.
More than 1 700 tests have been carried out since the start of the year, with 580 positive cases identified.
Mumps was detected in eight provinces, with KwaZulu-Natal recording 48% of the positive tests (280).
Mpumalanga recorded 97 positive tests (17%), followed by Gauteng with 64 (11%), and North West with 57 (10%).
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Most of the cases have occurred in children between the ages of five and nine, with this age group recording 335 cases (58%).
The one-to-four-year age group recorded 158 cases (27%).
The NICD said that there had been a decline in cases, but that this could be the result of incomplete testing data.
It said:
"It is also important to note that mumps is diagnosed symptomatically and is not a notifiable medical condition.
"Available data does not allow us to measure the exact number of test positives in our country, and anecdotal reports of suspected clustered or localised outbreaks may continue arising."
