Since 16. October has mæslingevirussen namely spread with lightning speed in Samoa, where 33 people - including 29 children under four years - have lost their lives after being infected.

Unfortunately, the virus does not yet appear to have gotten taken on the small island nation that is home to barely 200,000 in samoanere.

Wednesday sounds the latest update from the Samoa government, to which, so far, is registered 2.686 cases of the virus. 249 of these just since Tuesday.

"based on the numbers, it seems as though that the virus has culminated yet," says Helen Petousis-Harris, who is vaccinesikkerhedsekspert at Auckland University in New Zealand, to the Washington Post.

She also says that the number of persons who are vaccinated for measles in Samoa, is far less than on the other island states in the Pacific.

"This is a reflection of a lot of different factors. Samoanere have not very much confidence in their healthcare system, and they have a very widespread culture of vaccineskepsis," says Helen Petousis-Harris.

the world health Organization estimates that only 31 percent of samoan infants were vaccinated for measles in 2018. A figure, which shows a decrease of almost Betmoon 70 percent over the past year.

According to the WHO wears a scandal that took place in Samoa's public health care system back in 2018, a large part of the blame for the fact that many samoanere do not want to let their children be vaccinated.

Here lost two infants namely, life is short, after having had the MMR vaccine, which - among other things - prevents measles.

However, had the vaccine not to blame for the deaths. It was the nurses who gave indsprøjtningerne, to return.

the Nurses had mixed the vaccine with a liquid muscle relaxant instead of with water, as you normally do. A mistake, which has gotten them sentenced to five years in prison for manslaughter.

There was just one problem: The samoan population was not told that the two babies had died after the vaccine - not the. Actually went there for months, before the message was delivered to the public.

Months, as vaccineskeptiske groups, and people used to ask question at the MMR vaccine and how safe it really is.

Since 17. november - about a month after that mæslingevirussen broke out - has Samoa been in a state of emergency, and the government requires that all residents allow themselves to be vaccinated. American Samoa has declared acute health crisis, and requires that travellers from Samoa and Tonga can prove that they are vaccinated or immune to measles before they are allowed entry on the island that is u.s. territory.

Also in Tonga, Fiji and New Zealand have reported mæslingeudbrud, but on a much smaller scale than that now experienced in Samoa.