81 measles deaths now in Samoa

Samoa Measles Crisis Miss Samoa and newly-crowned Miss Pacific Islands Fonoifafo Mcfarland-Seumanu administers the measles vaccine in Samoa. Photo / Supplied

By RNZ

Samoa's Ministry of Health has confirmed another death in the measles epidemic sweeping the country.

The Ministry said the death of a child under five years old recorded in the last 24 hours takes the death toll to 81.

It said there are currently 43 measles cases in hospitals, 10 are of them are critical; seven are children.

There were nine measles cases recorded in the last 24 hours for Upolu.

There were no new cases for Savai'i.

As of Christmas Day, about 95 percent of all eligible people in Samoa have been vaccinated against measles.

The Health Ministry confirms a total of 5612 measles cases have been reported to the Disease Surveillance Team, since the outbreak started.

The total number of measles cases admitted to all hospitals recorded for the outbreak to date is 1823. Of that, 1699 (93 percent) patients have been discharged.

- RNZ