APIA, Samoa, Dec 9, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A devastating measles outbreak
continued to spread in Samoa, data released Monday showed, as the death toll
from the epidemic climbed to 70, mostly young children.
Official figures showed there were 112 new cases in the 24 hours to Monday
morning, despite a massive immunisation drive last week that saw the entire
Pacific nation shut down for two days.
The government said the mobile vaccination teams had succeeded in ensuring
90 percent of the 200,000-strong population was immunised, up from around 30
percent when the epidemic began in mid-October. However, the vaccine takes
10-14 days to take effect, meaning it is too early to say whether the
outbreak has peaked.
The total number of cases was 4,693, with 229 people currently in hospital,
including 16 critically ill children.
Infants are the most vulnerable to measles, which typically causes a rash
and fever but can also lead to brain damage and death.
Among the 70 dead, 61 are children aged four or under.
Health authorities have blamed anti-vaxxers spreading conspiracy theories
for the low immunisation rate that left Samoa’s children so vulnerable to a
measles outbreak.
Outbreaks elsewhere in the Pacific, including Tonga, Fiji and American
Samoa, have been easier to contain because of higher immunisation rates, with
no deaths reported.