Samoa's measles epidemic claims 5 more lives bringing death toll to 60

Samoa's measles epidemic has taken 5 more lives in the past 24 hours which brings the death toll to 60. 

A total of 4,052 measles cases have been reported since the outbreak started. There were 171 cases recorded in the last 24 hours alone.

TVNZ News reports fifty-two of the 60 that have died from contracting the disease to date were under the age of four. 

At this stage the Samoan government has revealed there are 177 measles cases who are in-patients at all health facilities.

The Samoan government is set to shut down tomorrow for two days in an aim to have workers help with the mass vaccination campaign

[Source: TVNZ]