Samoan authorities have charged an alleged anti-vaxxer with incitement against the government, as the Pacific nation remains in a national shut-down over a measles outbreak which has killed more than 60 people.

Key points: Measles has killed 63 Samoans at the last count, most of them children

Measles has killed 63 Samoans at the last count, most of them children The anti-vaxxer's public claims were reported to the Samoan Attorney General

The anti-vaxxer's public claims were reported to the Samoan Attorney General Measles cases are up three-fold compared to the same time last year, the WHO says

The shut-down is facilitating a mobile vaccination service, where citizens have been asked to place a red flag at the front of their homes to signal to roving vaccinators that someone requires immunisation.

This has emptied the nation's streets, as businesses and schools have been shut to prevent contagion. People have also been told not to drive.

In a statement released yesterday, the Samoan Government said an "alleged anti-vaxxer individual" was charged with incitement.

Last month, the Samoan Cabinet declared a state of emergency which made vaccinations compulsory, while it also made it illegal to discourage people from getting immunised.

The government alleged that the unnamed suspect who local media have identified as Edwin Tamasese — a local businessman with no medical training — made the following public statement in reference to the immunisation efforts: "I'll be here to mop up your mess. Enjoy your killing spree".

He previously made incorrect suggestions claiming that Vitamin A or D could be used as alternatives to the measles vaccine.

Citizens of Samoa have put up red flags out the front of their homes to alert mobile immunisation teams. ( TV1 Samoa )

The suspect has not been allowed to apply for bail, whose statement was reported to Samoa's Attorney General from a member of the public which was then reported to the police.

The AG's office also confirmed that the suspect had previously been warned by police about anti-vaccination claims.

Authorities fear immunisation targets won't be met

Roads have been closed to assist the mobile immunisation teams. ( ABC News: Melissa Clarke )

ABC foreign affairs reporter Melissa Clarke told AM this morning the feeling on the ground in the Samoan capital Apia was "very strange".

"It's very strange to have empty streets and empty roads. No one's allowed to drive anywhere," she said.

"It's a way of trying to ensure everyone gets vaccinated, but also not having to gather everyone together in one place, a hospital or a clinic where transmitting measles is more likely."

The Samoan Government has declared a state of emergency over the measles outbreak. ( Facebook: Government of Samoa )

In recent weeks, the spread of the virus in Samoa — which has killed 63 people at last count — has reached a crisis point owing to the country's low immunisation rate, which had been as low as 30 per cent.

Authorities hope their efforts will raise that number to 90 per cent.

But Clarke told AM that authorities feared that the two-day shutdown would not be able to meet the target.

"There's already talk about the possibility of having to extend it or perhaps having another day or two curfew next week to try and get to as many people as possible," she said.

The latest figures released by the Samoan Government estimated that about 82 per cent of infants and children aged 6-months to 4-years-old have been immunised as of December 5.

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Measles is one of the most contagious known diseases — more so than Ebola, tuberculosis or flu.

It can linger in the air or on surfaces for several hours after an infected person has gone, which puts anyone not vaccinated at risk.

In some wealthier nations, vaccination rates have been hit by some parents shunning them for what they say are religious or philosophical reasons.

Mistrust of authority and debunked myths about links to autism also weaken vaccine confidence and lead some parents to delay protecting their children.

In Samoa, Clarke said mistrust of official vaccination programs became a "really big issue" when two children died after nurses administered them with incorrect measles immunisation drugs.

"We saw a lot of parents after that point, afraid and losing trust in the vaccination system," she said.

"In those intervening months, we've seen a larger cohort of the population, particularly the children, grow up without getting the vaccines they need."

This led to the Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele televising his immunisation to quell fears about vaccination.

Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele broadcast his measles vaccination to dispel vaccination fears. ( Facebook: Government of Samoa )

Measles outbreaks hit every region of the world in 2018

On Thursday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said measles infected nearly 10 million people in 2018 and killed 140,000, mostly children, as devastating outbreaks of the viral disease hit every region of the world.

In figures described by its director general as "an outrage", the WHO said most of last year's measles deaths were in children under five years old who had not been vaccinated.

"The fact that any child dies from a vaccine-preventable disease like measles is frankly an outrage and a collective failure to protect the world's most vulnerable children," said the WHO's director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 3 minutes 54 seconds 3 m 54 s The Centres for Disease Control's Robert Linkins told ABC News 24 there is inadequate measles vaccine coverage globally.

The picture for 2019 is even worse, WHO said, with provisional data up to November showing a three-fold increase compared with the same period in 2018.

The United States has already reported its highest number of measles cases in 25 years in 2019, while four countries in Europe — Albania, the Czech Republic, Greece and Britain lost their WHO "measles-free" status in 2018 after suffering large outbreaks.

Globally, measles vaccination rates have stagnated for almost a decade, WHO said.

It and the UNICEF children's fund say that in 2018, around 86 per cent of children got a first dose of measles vaccine through their country's routine vaccination services, and fewer than 70 per cent got the second dose recommended to fully protect them from measles infection.

ABC/Reuters