Samoa measles outbreak: Two more dead, death toll now 22

APIA, Nov 24, 2019, RNZ. Two more people in Samoa have died in the measles outbreak that’s killed 22. Samoa’s Ministry of the Prime Minister and Cabinet said 153 new measles cases have been recorded in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 1797, Radio New Zealand reported.

About 92 percent of the 147 people being treated at health facilities are children, with 11 critically ill children in intensive care.

One couple have lost three of their five children.

The majority of the infected are on Upolu island.

The ministry said a mass vaccination campaign was launched on Wednesday and more than 10,128 people have since been immunised.

Other measures include barring pregnant women who are unvaccinated or uncertain of their vaccination status from work, travel restrictions between the two main islands and public gatherings being restricted under a state of emergency.

A fundraiser has been launched in New Zealand to help families affected.

Auckland Pacific Leadership Forum chair Teleiai Edwin Puni said the outbreak was taking a toll on affected families and help was needed.

“The crisis is not just with the vaccinations, the medical side, but there is also the mental and social impact,” he said.

“This is something we know very well with our experience of the tsunami in Samoa 10 years ago.”