Uncertainty continues amid Samoa measles epidemic

Uncertainty continues to surround recent deaths suspected to be linked to the measles epidemic in Samoa.

A one-year-old twin has died, whose older brother died five days earlier.

The Samoa Observer reports the grief sticken parents buried two of their three children together on Saturday after the siblings failed to respond to hospital treatment after showing clinical signs of measles.

When contacted the Samoa Ministry of Health told RNZ Pacific the current death toll from measles could not be confirmed.

Last week, the suspected death toll was four people, three young children, including the two-year-old boy, and a 37-year-old man.

The latest news of the twin girl's death brings the unconfirmed total of measles related deaths to five but the real number could be higher.

Meanwhile, the Australian laboratory helping to identify the strain of measles virus, and offer a diagnosis on the causes of the deaths, said it could not speak publicly but has completed testing of samples sent from Samoa.

Auckland University vaccine specialist Helen Petousis-Harris said mass immunisation of the Samoan community and quarantining of those who were sick were the two most effective interventions known to harness the rampant highly infectious viral illness.

Both anti-vaxxers and those who are ambivalent about taking action to protect their children through immunisation had contributed to a plunge in herd immunity, she said.

Ms Petousis-Harris said Samoa had a dismal vaccination rate and the level of herd immunity was among the worst countries in the world.

But with mass MMR programmes ongoing in response to the current situation, she said there was some hope health authorities might be able to limit the number of lives lost to the virus.

An update on the measles epidemic is expected from the Samoa Government within the next 48 hours.