As of March 16, 2023, South Africa has reported confirmed cases of measles from all provinces, with eight out of nine provinces declaring measles outbreaks. The majority of cases, about 86%, have been reported among those aged under 14 years.

The outbreak was initially declared in Limpopo province in October 2022, and since then, community-based surveillance has been strengthened, and a mass measles vaccination campaign targeting children aged between 6 months and 15 years launched in all provinces. Despite these efforts, the South African Ministry of Health (MoH) has reported that no deaths associated with measles have been recorded.

Sporadic cases of measles were reported throughout 2022 in South Africa, a measles-endemic country that has experienced several measles outbreaks in recent years. However, the current outbreak has been deemed high risk at the national level, moderate at the regional level, and low at the global level by the World Health Organization (WHO).

According to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), 4830 serum samples were tested for measles, of which 772 (16%) were confirmed measles cases from epidemiological week 40, 2022 (ending 8 October 2022) to week 10, 2023 (ending 7 March 2023). The laboratory-confirmed measles cases were reported from the provinces of Limpopo, North West, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, Northern Cape, and Eastern Cape.