The country of Somoa, previously known as Western Somoa, has a population of just under 200,000, people living on two main and four smaller islands. With its capital city, Apia, the country is regarded as an idyllic paradise in the South Pacific adjacent to the International Dateline.
In 2018, two infant deaths occurred in Somoa when two nurses mistakenly mixed vaccine powder with expired anaesthetic instead of the appropriate diluent. Unfortunately this led to a sharp reduction in the number of children being immunised against measles, with the vaccination rate dropping from 74% in 2017 to 34 % in 2018. Misinformation from persons running an anti-vaccination campaign also contributed to many parents being unwilling to have their children given the vaccine.
In September this year an outbreak of measles occurred and as of this week 4,693 cases have been confirmed with 70 deaths from the disease being recorded.
This situation has becomes so serious that the government has declared a state of emergency and on 17 November all schools were closed, children under the age of 17 were banned from public events and vaccination was made mandatory.
Over the last weekend a two-day curfew was imposed while medical personnel went on a house by house basis to immunise over 90% of the people who had not been vaccinated.
Australia sent a team of nurses, doctors and public health experts as well as medical equipment and supplies to assist with the vaccination program.
During the last twelve months there have also been outbreaks of measles in a number of other Pacific countries including Fiji, Tonga and more recently American Somoa.
Just under 56,000 people live in neighbouring country American Samoa. This country consists of five main islands and two coral atolls.
In Pago Pago, the capital of American Samoa, the government has declared this week that the outbreak of measles is so serious that public schools were closed from Monday 9 December and gatherings in parks have been banned.
At this stage the number of persons identified with measles has been limited to nine, however concern that over 15% of the population under the age of five have not been immunised means that the tragedy of the measles outbreak in Somoa presents a real threat in American Samoa.