
Death toll from Samoa measles outbreak rises to 53, mostly young children
The death toll from a growing measles outbreak on the small Pacific island of Samoa has topped 50.
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Since the Samoan government declared a national measles epidemic in late October, at least 53 people — nearly all children — have died from the highly contagious, vaccine-preventable disease. Most of them are children under the age of 4.
Samoa’s Ministry of Health has recorded a total of 3,728 measles cases in the islands’ population of around 200,000 since the outbreak began, according to the latest data.
The Samoan government officially declared a state of emergency on Nov. 15 and then launched a mandatory vaccination program for priority groups, including children and women of childbearing age who aren’t pregnant. More than 58,000 people have been immunized against measles on the two main islands, Upolu and Savai’i. It typically takes about 10 to 14 days for the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to become effective.
All schools have been closed indefinitely since mid-November and children have been banned from attending public gatherings due to the epidemic.
