2019 Tonga measles outbreak


The 2019 Tonga measles outbreak began in October 2019 after a squad of Tongan rugby players came back from New Zealand. The epidemic as of December 8 is currently ongoing. As of January 5, there have been 612 cases of measles.

Background

Measles has been spreading throughout the Pacific region, with outbreaks in Tonga, Fiji, Samoa, the Philippines and New Zealand.
Samoa, Tonga and Fiji have all declared states of emergency to tackle their 2019 measles outbreaks. When contrasting the scores of deaths in Samoa to the lack of fatalities in Tonga and Fiji, this is put down to the far higher vaccination rates in Tonga and Fiji compared to the 31% in Samoa.
Most of the cases have been on the island of Tongatapu where the first cases started.

Vaccine hesitancy

The outbreak has been attributed to a sharp drop in measles vaccination in Samoa from the previous year, following an incident in 2018 when two infants died in Samoa shortly after receiving measles vaccinations, which led the country to suspend its measles vaccination program. The reason for the two infants' deaths was incorrect preparation of the vaccine by two nurses who mixed vaccine powder with expired anaesthetic.

Government response

Ministry of Health chief executive, Siale 'Akau'ola, said more than 12,000 people had been re-vaccinated. The vaccination rate in Tonga was over 90% which might stem the infection rates seen in Samoa and New Zealand.

International response

has sent 110,500 vaccines to Samoa. Tonga and Fiji have also declared states of emergency. Tonga closed all schools for several days while American Samoa required all travelers from Tonga and Samoa to present proof of vaccination.
Since 1 October, UNICEF has delivered 12,000 measles vaccines to Tonga.
On December 10th, American Samoa declared a measle outbreak and closed public schools and park gatherings and suspended all entry permits for those travelling through Samoa and Tonga to American Samoa.