Samoa measles outbreak tops 4,000 cases

By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews

Samoan officials, in an update today, shows that the measles epidemic has crossed the 4,000 case mark since it began in early September.

With an additional 171 measles cases reported in the past day, the outbreak total has now reached 4,052.

In addition, the measles related death toll has reached 60 on the island. 52 of the fatalities are reported in children 4 years of age and younger.

With tens of thousands of people vaccinated recently, the estimated vaccine coverage now stands at 73 percent for children 6 months to 4 years in both Upolu and Savai’i.

The numbers are higher for older children and adult women.

The rest of Samoa population stands at 50 percent vaccination coverage.

On Tuesday, Samoan officials issued new proclamations for the “public safety” to include the closure of all private and public offices, services, businesses and operations between 6am and 6pm on Thursday and Friday.



