The disease is outfoxing prevention efforts, thanks in part to vaccination myths.
As the search to cure even more pernicious diseases continues apace, vaccinations stir up controversy wherever they go and SA is not immune.
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has launched an HPV vaccine programme for grade four girls in all government schools.
How SA women will benefit from an HPV vaccine, which the government will introduce next year, will strongly depend on the virus’s link with HIV.
Prevenar and Rotarix have emptied paediatric wards but the coverage is still too low.
Britain and Bill Gates have pledged more than half of the $3.7-billion sought to vaccinate nearly 250-million children against preventable diseases.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates has called on African countries to work harder to get life-saving vaccines to children.
Lax immunisation has resulted in outbreaks in formerly virus-free zones on the continent.
Are dissenting parents putting other children — and communities — at risk? Nechama Brodie reports