The New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has urged anyone not vaccinated stay away from Auckland as public health officials warn of the spread of the disease to Pacific Island nations.
As of Monday, the total number of measles cases in Auckland has risen to more than 800, with more than 963 cases nationally. Young Pacific Islanders from South Auckland have been affected the most.
Paediatrician and pacific health expert Dr Teuila Percival, who works at South Auckland's largest hospital, and said she is treating children who are at real risk of dying.
“Measles is dominating what we are treating at the hospital. We have had children sick enough to go to intensive care, some have had to be ventilated,” she told SBS Dateline.
“These kids are almost dying.”
Auckland Regional Public Health Service has said those affected are young people aged up to four and 15 to 29.
More than 50 schools in the region have reported cases of measles this year, according to the Auckland Regional Public Health Service.
One school last week sent home 300 children after 13 students succumbed to the illness. The fatality rate of measles is one in 1000.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned last week that anyone who is unvaccinated should stay away from Auckland city.
Paediatrician Teuila Percival with her grandson. The doctor fears young children will die as measles cases rise in Auckland. Source: The University of Auckland
The Auckland Regional Public Health Service said they had been notified that a passenger with measles had travelled to Auckland from Samoa on an Air New Zealand flight last week, unaware that they had measles at the time.
Dr Percival, who is the Director of the Pacific Health Unit at the University of Auckland, is concerned the disease will spread to the Pacific Islands due to the high rate of those travelling between New Zealand and the island nations.
“There are daily flights from Auckland to the Cook Islands and Tonga. The physical symptoms of the measles manifest about five days after the patient is already contagious,”she said.
“I’m sure Pacific Islanders will be watching their borders.”
Measles cases around the world had risen by 300 percent during the first three months of 2019 compared to the same period last year, according to the World Health Organisation. The US and the Philippines have been grappling with similar outbreaks to New Zealand.
“While this data is provisional and not yet complete, it indicates a clear trend. Many countries are in the midst of sizable measles outbreaks, with all regions of the world experiencing sustained rises in cases,” the World Health Organisation said in a statement early this year.
University of Sydney Infectious disease expert Professor Ramon Shaban said an outbreak in the Pacific Islands would be a concern for surrounding countries, including Australia.
“However, the cases have occurred in parts of the Pacific Islands that don’t have a lot of transit and outside major capital cities,” he told SBS Dateline.
