The World Health Organization warned of a "slide back" in global efforts to eliminate measles, as the death toll from an outbreak that has killed dozens of children in Samoa continued to climb.
Emergency measures including compulsory mass immunisations and school closures have so far done little to stop the virus spreading in a country that was particularly vulnerable to measles due to low vaccination rates of about 31%. "This is quite a severe disease and we just aren't used to seeing it, so it comes as quite a surprise when we see how fatal it can be."
Cases have skyrocketed in Europe, leading to Britain, Greece, the Czech Republic and Albania all losing their measles-free status in August. Another major factor, which has been cited by the WHO as a reason for the severity of the Samoa outbreak, is misinformation about immunisation from anti-vaccine campaigners.
Meanwhile, a New Zealand newspaper has apologised over a cartoon it published, which made reference to the outbreak.
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