Dr Canaan Aumua, from Turuki Health Care, is one of the people behind Stop Measles NZ - a Facebook page with a chatbot that helps provide official information to people about measles.

For the past year, New Zealand has been plagued by measles.

There have been more than 2000 confirmed cases of it here since January, with more than half of those in Auckland.

Cases here are tapering off, but the highly contagious disease has now hit Samoa hard, with reports saying 16 people have died as a result.

It's a sad situation that Kiwi doctors Canaan Aumua​ and Sanjeev Krishna are on a mission to help fix.

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The duo have created a online chatbot that's programmed to answer questions specifically about measles and immunisations.

The chatbot called Mītara is run simply through their STOP Measles NZ Facebook page and messenger. It's a free service that answers measles-specific questions from members of the public at any time of the day.

Stop Measles NZ Two Kiwi doctors are hoping their new chatbot can help curb the amount of misinformation online about measles and immunisations.

Aumua said that as far as they're aware, it's the first chatbot of its kind in New Zealand that specifically focuses on measles during an outbreak.

The idea for the bot came about after seeing a high amount of misinformation around measles and immunisations online, he said.

"It was really just to try and combat the amount of content that we could see online in regards to measles, especially in regards to vaccinations. There was just so much misleading and just blatantly incorrect information that was floating around out there."

TOM LEE/STUFF The Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine.

Krishna said that although there is a lot of reliable medical information available online, sometimes it's difficult to know and navigate.

With so many people using social media, the doctor duo thought a bot could help bridge that gap.

The "self confessed tech-geeks" already had a bit of knowledge about chatbots, and created Mītara in about a week, Aumua said.

The responses the bot gives out are programmed by the clinicians, and the information supplied is from current New Zealand guidelines and official health bodies, including the Immunisation Advisory Centre and the Ministry of Health.

"If the bot can't answer something, then the message is directly forwarded to myself and Sanjeev," Aumua said.

Launched on Labour Day, so far the bot has exchanged almost 4000 messages with people.

Stop Measles NZ Got any questions about measles? A chatbot created by two Kiwi doctors might be able to help.

Although it seems to be able to answer most queries, the ones that have been forwarded through to the doctors have been mostly science-specific questions, ones written in different languages, or with broken English that the bot has found difficult to interpret, Aumua said.

The majority of people seeking help from the bot have tended to be worried mums, he said.

"People talk directly with Mītara - which is the bot - at whatever time of the day, whenever they're free. And that was the goal because we wanted it to be free, we wanted it to be as easily and widely accessible as possible."

In the past week, a "ginormous" intake of measles questions have come in from mostly Samoan and Fijian people, Aumua said.

RNZ/YOUTUBE Samoa is currently dealing with a large measles outbreak, which has led to the death of 16 people.

Samoa has declared an emergency as a result of a measles epidemic, that has been exacerbated by low immunisation rates there. Schools have been closed, and children have also been banned from public gatherings in an attempt to stop the spread of the disease.

Aumua said the chatbot's aim was to be as accessible as possible for people seeking information about measles, so it was great it was reaching people in the Pacific.

He said directly helping 20-30 people a day in general practice was great, but potentially helping a couple of hundred online was also an awesome and rewarding thing.

"I guess we are just trying to be as helpful as possible."

Going forwards, Krishna said it was important to continue to consider integrating social media, technology and public health to make sure people were educated, safe and healthy.

TVNZ via AP Children and their parents wait in line to get vaccinated outside a health clinic in Apia, Samoa. Image from video.

On Wednesday, passengers on a flight from Samoa to Auckland were warned to watch for signs of measles after being exposed to a person with the disease.

The flight departed Apia, Samoa on Samoa Airways flight OL731 on Monday, November 11, and landed in Auckland.

Although new cases of the measles were still occurring in New Zealand, the numbers have drastically tapered off when compared with cases in previous months.

MORNING REPORT/RNZ More New Zealand medical staff are due in Samoa as the death toll continues to rise from a measles outbreak in the country.

However an immunologist has previously warned that there were still immunity gaps and New Zealand should not get complacent.

There have been 2076 confirmed cases of the measles notified across New Zealand between January 1, 2019 and November 15, Ministry of Health data shows.

Of those, 1674 were in the Auckland region.

Symptoms to look out for:

* The first symptoms are: fever, tiredness, runny nose, cough and sore red eyes.

* After four to five days a red blotchy rash appears. The rash starts behind the ears, spreads to the face over one to two days and then spreads down to the body. The rash will last for four to seven days.

* If you develop any symptoms of measles keep away from public places.

* Contact a doctor as soon as possible so a diagnosis can be confirmed.

* Alternatively, contact Healthline 0800 611 116, for free advice from experienced nurses.

* Further information can also be found on the Ministry of Health website.