JOHANNESBURG - Declining childhood vaccination rates are raising fears that diseases may return.
Earlier this year, researchers found two polio strains in wastewater in Cape Town.
Outbreaks of whooping coughs and measles have also occurred.
Experts said the biggest worry is that one in three children are left unprotected.
SANOFI South Africa's Diane Buron said the data is very telling.
"The vaccination rates for the first dose for children has dropped from 87% in 2019 to 67% in 2025. So that's a 20% drop in only six years and it means that today one in three children is completely unprotected against potentially serious diseases.
"So, it is a warning call to make sure that we protect our children in South Africa and that we make sure that they are vaccinated. What we see happening is disease coming back unfortunately. So, in even only the first seven weeks of 2026, over 160 cases of whooping cough were reported and over 5,000 cases of measles have been reported since the beginning of 2026.
"Even polioviruses have been detected in the wastewater in Cape Town. So, it's not an outbreak in the sense that no polio cases were detected in humans, but it is a very important warning sign that it is a real risk and if vaccination rates and if children do not get their vaccination."