Samoa measles outbreak: 60 dead as cases top 4,200
Officials say more than 4,200 measles cases have been reported since the outbreak, with 165 in the last 24 hours.
Thursday 5 December 2019 12:27, UK
Samoa has begun a mass vaccination campaign of all 200,000 islanders after a measles epidemic escalated.
Families have been asked to stay indoors and hang red flags outside their homes if they need vaccinations as medics carry out door-to-door visits.
The death toll from the epidemic has risen to more than 60.
Among the fatalities are 23 babies below the age of one, and 25 children aged between one and four.
Government officials have said more than 4,200 measles cases have been reported since the outbreak, with 165 in the last 24 hours.
The South Pacific island declared a national emergency last month.
Authorities believe the virus was first spread by a traveller from New Zealand.
The government has closed all schools and banned children from public gatherings.
Figures from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF indicate fewer than 30% of Samoan infants were immunised last year.
That low rate was exacerbated by a medical mishap that killed two babies who were administered a vaccine that had been incorrectly mixed, causing wider delays and distrust in the vaccination programme.
The WHO has set a target of wiping out measles from most of the world by next year.
It says the disease is entirely preventable thanks to a safe vaccine that has been in use since the 1960s, and that measles deaths worldwide decreased by 84% between 2000 and 2016 to about 90,000 annually thanks to better immunisation.