measles

University of Auckland’s Immunisation Advisory Centre medical director Dr Nikki Turner said child immunisation rates in areas like south Auckland remain in a state of crisis an outbreak could have dire consequences.

“Measles can spread like wildfire,” Turner said. “You only get immunity to it through vaccination, or if you’ve previously contracted it.”

“The problem is our childhood vaccination rates have dropped and a lot of other people didn’t receive their vaccinations when they were younger. So there are some real gaps in the community.”

The territory's Department of Health (DOH) said samples from the child, who was seen at a community centre with symptoms on 27 March, were sent for testing in California and returned positive.

Day cares are now closed to protect babies from being exposed to the virus, as infants under six months are not eligible for the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine.

RNZ Pacific reports Kanana Fou Elementary School in Tafuna, where the girl attends, has also been closed.

Health agencies are asking anyone on an international flight ETD426/EY462 from Abu Dhabi to Melbourne arriving at 6am on 28 January and who then flew on to New Zealand to please contact Healthline if they have not already been contacted by health officials.

RNZ reports a case of measles in a person who is in Australia has been linked to the flight.

The Ministry of Health - Manatū Hauora and Health New Zealand - Te Whatu Ora say there are no reported cases of measles in New Zealand.

These diseases is caused by a family of viruses called enteroviruses.

Permanent Secretary Doctor James Fong says the disease can be mistaken for what many have read about monkeypox.

Thus, he said the ministry was yet to diagnose a case of monkeypox.

Fong says Fiji is in the middle of its chickenpox season, and measles cases have also been noted.

FBC reports the PS says the ministry has released a number of health advisories and guidelines to all clinicians in the public and private sectors in order to facilitate early case identification and reporting.

American Samoa was to host the inter-governmental meeting involving eight Polynesian members in April.

Originally the territory was to host the event in July 2019 but Governor Lolo Matalasi Moliga asked Tuvalu, which hosted the Pacific Forum meeting, to host the PLG alongside the forum.

Lolo had said the territory would step up and host the meeting in January 2020 instead.

However, because of the Samoan measles epidemic, the governor then postponed the meeting until April.

For Samoa, the country experienced a widescale measles outbreak which had significant impact upon the country’s population and health system.

The disease has cost lives, with infants and young children being most affected.

In response to the identification of measles in the region, many Pacific countries and areas have made serious efforts to close immunity gaps in their population and strengthen infectious disease prevention, surveillance and response systems.

The government said the latest case was a 28-year-old man from Fagaitua village, who has not left American Samoa in the past three months.

A woman, 27, is also thought to have measles, with samples sent to Hawaii for testing.

The territory is under an emergency declaration, with travel restrictions imposed on the territory's border, public gatherings restricted, and a mass vaccination campaign underway.

Earlier this week, the US announced it would provide $US490,000 of funding to help support the territory's efforts to prevent the spread of the virus.

The government said the removal of the ban comes after serious consideration by the National Measles Taskforce.

Since the outbreak, which has seen 28 confirmed measles cases, was declared in November, around 459,000 people have been immunised across the country.

The government said while new cases continue to be reported in the Central Division, the number of new cases per week has decreased.

However it said despite the advisory against gatherings being lifted members of the public are still being urged to take precautions and to make sure they get vaccinated.

The baby is one of 15 in the New Zealand territory who has not yet been vaccinated due to being aged under 12 months.

The child was admitted to Niue Fo'ou Hospital on Tuesday.

Parents with babies aged under one year and unimmunised pregnant mothers have been advised to avoid the hospital.

The Niue Health Department said, as of 13 December all children aged one to two years had been vaccinated while two to four year olds were at 96 percent.

Primary school aged children are at 85 percent and high school students are at 92 percent.

The bloodwork of an 11-month-old boy from Eita village in Tarawa, who tested positive for measles, was among 16 samples that were sent to Fiji for testing and were returned on Tuesday.

The Health Ministry said the boy has received treatment and is recovering.

The Kiribati Measles Task Force is working to confirm contact-tracing and co-ordinate measures to minimise the risk of the further spread of measles in the country.