The Dhaka Times Desk Samoa is in dire straits as a result of the outbreak of measles. A measles outbreak in the Pacific nation of Samoa has killed 22 people, almost all children under the age of five.
The government says that the effects of measles have become very serious since Friday alone. Samoa declared a state of emergency last week to deal with the outbreak. All schools are closed, public gatherings of children under 17 are banned and vaccinations are now mandatory. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates the Samoa vaccination rate to be between 28-40%.
Samoa has sent 110,500 vaccines to the country and New Zealand has sent medicine, nurses and equipment – fighting the disease outbreak itself. It usually takes between 10 days and two weeks for this vaccine to start working. However, there are many problems in the treatment of this disease, it is known that some people are doing false treatment. A businessman told the Australian broadcaster ABC that his “kangen water” – tap water in fact – could reduce symptoms. Samoa Attorney General Lemalu Herman Ratlaff warned people against discouraging vaccination in any way.
“Law enforcement is open to receiving notices, complaints or evidence from any person or organization that is preventing our community from vaccinating or going as far as possible,” he told the Samoa Observer. Tonga and Fiji last month declared states of emergency to deal with their measles outbreaks as the disease returned from the past, causing the body to forget how to fight infection.
But vaccination rates are high in both countries – more than 90% in both countries – and no deaths have been reported so far. Tonga's women's rugby team was suspended in separate cases on Thursday following a measles outbreak. Measles is a highly contagious viral illness that can sometimes cause serious health complications, including lung and brain infections. Infection rates are increasing worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced in April that the number of cases reported worldwide rose by a quarter in the first three months of the year compared to the same period in 201b.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, measles has killed nearly 50,000 people and infected close to a million. The WHO says the outbreak is the world's largest and fastest-moving epidemic. In that case, the World Health Organization calls everyone around the world to be aware.
Desperate parents are turning to alternative cures in Samoa as an illness epidemic convulses the Pacific nation. Important point: Some parents are turning to questionable alternative treatments for measles The treatment involves splashing sick children with filtered tap water The government has warned that mandatory vaccination to protect against measles is the best way to contain the spread of measles A state of emergency was declared this week was done, which has killed 20 people to date – 19 of them under the age of five. The Samoan government has ordered mandatory vaccinations and a mass vaccination drive is underway, but authorities fear the situation is about to get worse before it gets better.
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