An outbreak of measles has killed more than 1,200 people on the island of Madagascar.

The country is facing its largest measles outbreak in history, with the number of recorded cases growing beyond 115,000.

Measles cases are rising in the US and elsewhere, with New York City battling to halt an outbreak by ordering mandatory vaccinations in one Brooklyn neighbourhood.

But unlike in other parts of the world where misguided concerns about vaccinating children have led to a rise in cases, Madagascar’s outbreak stems in part from a lack of resources.

“The epidemic unfortunately continues to expand in size,” though at a slower pace than a month ago, said Dr Dossou Vincent Sodjinou, a World Health Organisation (WHO) epidemiologist in Madagascar.

The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Show all 7 1 /7 The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Charlie Sheen Sheen fought a legal battle against ex-wife Denise Richards to try and block her from vaccinating their children. Richards of course won and Sheen was reportedly so bitter that he paid the paediatrician bill entirely in nickels Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Gwyneth Paltrow Paltrow's "health and wellness" company Goop hosted a notorious anti-vaccine speaker at their 2018 Goop Summit Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Rob Schneider Schneider demanded the freedom to decline vaccination Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Jenny McCarthy McCarthy has claimed that "people are dying from vaccinations", believes that her son caught autism from a vaccine and has pushed her opinions on the topic publicly for many years AFP/Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Bill Maher Maher has long spoken against vaccines sating on Larry King live that "a flu shot is the worst thing you can do." His stance appears to stem from a distrust of government AFP/Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Alicia Silverstone In Silverstone's book The Kind Mama, she wrote that "there is increasing anecdotal evidence from doctors who have gotten distressed phone calls from parents claiming their child was ‘never the same’ after receiving a vaccine." Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Andrew Wakefield Godfather of the anti-vax movement, disgraced doctor Andrew Wakefield famously published a report in the medical journal Lancet claiming a link between the MMR vaccine and autism in 1998. The Lancet retracted the report in 2010 and Wakefield was struck off the medical register PA

Only 58 per cent of people on the main island of Madagascar have been vaccinated against measles, a major factor in the outbreak’s spread.

The outbreak has killed mostly children under 15 since it began in September, according to the WHO.

By mid-March, 117,075 cases had been reported by the health ministry, affecting all regions of the country.

The outbreak has been complicated due to the fact nearly 50 per cent of children in Madagascar are malnourished.

“Malnutrition is the bed of measles,” Dr Sodjinou said.

Many parents are often unaware vaccines in the country are free, due to a lack of information about health issues.

Some cases of resistance exist because of the influence of religion or traditional health practitioners, but they are isolated cases, Dr Sodjinou added.

Measles outbreak in New York

Measles is a highly infectious disease spread by coughing, sneezing, close contact or infected surfaces.

Madagascar’s health ministry has sent free medication intended to treat the symptoms of the disease to regions most affected by the outbreak.

Late last month the WHO started a third mass vaccination campaign in Madagascar with the overall goal of reaching 7.2 million children aged six months to nine years.