Could your kid get measles?

Measles, the most serious of the common childhood viral illnesses has been doing the rounds in Gauteng.

'The number of cases now stands at 468 with Gauteng being the most affected province with 422 cases,' according to Nombuso Shabalala, Communications Manager at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD).

The spread of measles is easy as the early symptoms are similar to a cold. If someone sneezes and you breathe in the droplets, the virus infects the surface cells of your upper airways. The virus is also found in the urine and a person is infectious from about 3 days before the rash occurs to about 5 days after.