Some parents of children with measles in Samoa appear to be panicking over the care their infants are receiving, with at least three families reportedly taking their children out of hospital against medical advice.
New Zealand Red Cross nurse Karen Page, who hasbeen based in Apia assisting with the measles epidemic for the past two weeks, said she had heard reports of three families discharging their children in more than one location.
In some cases the families returned to hospital several days later when their children's health had seriously deteriorated, Page said.
"We also went to the hospital west of Apia where the New Zealand Medical Assistance Team are working and one of the Samoan doctors there told us exactly the same thing - it's the young mothers, the young parents - that are taking their kids out to access traditional healers," she said.
"And it's just a shame, a real shame that's happening."
Page said she and her colleagues had not come across any "anti-vaxxers" in Samoa.
