(IRIN) – A measles outbreak has hit 28 of Zimbabwe’s 62 districts and is still spreading, but efforts to vaccinate people in some quarters is being hampered by religious convictions.

According to the latest World health Organisation (WHO) Epidemiological Bulletin, “Nearly 1,200 suspected cases were reported since the start of the outbreak in October 2009 … 221 cases have been confirmed … 50 community deaths have been reported.”

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) as well as other organizations in the health sector have embarked on an intensive vaccination programme. “The campaign is targeting all children between the ages of six months and 14 years,” UNICEF’s Zimbabwe spokesperson, Micaela Marques de Sousa, told IRIN. In eastern Zimbabwe, in the Buhera district of Manicaland Province alone, more than 25,000 children had been vaccinated against measles.

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IRIN – The cause of a measles outbreak sweeping South Africa has not as yet been determined, but initial suspicions point to religious objections and unfounded fears that immunizations against the disease increase the risk of autism in children.

The National Institute of Communicable Disease (NICD) said last week that the Western Cape had recorded the highest number of new measles cases, 82, bringing the total in the province to 447, although Gauteng Province remained worst affected, with 4,359 cases since the outbreak began almost a year ago. In other provinces KwaZulu-Natal recorded 631 cases, North West 563, and Eastern Cape 314.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes measles as a highly contagious viral disease affecting mostly children, and that it can be effectively prevented by immunization.

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