SUVA, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Confirmed cases of measles have reached 18 in the South Pacific island nation of Fiji which reported its first case of measles in November this year.
According to a government statement on Friday, the Fijian Health Ministry said the latest confirmed cases are a 3-month-old baby and a 1-year-and-5-month-old child.
The ministry said that the outbreak response teams of the country have rapidly responded to the latest cases.
About 100,000 people in the island nation have been vaccinated in phase one of the vaccination campaign.
The campaign's phase two started from Wednesday and it targets children who had not received two doses of the measles vaccine as per the national immunisation schedule, children aged 12 and 18 months due for measles vaccination routine, those travelling overseas, health care workers, airport and hotel staff and all people born between 1980 and 2000 (19 to 39 years old).
In the first two days of phase two, over 70 health teams have vaccinated more than 45,000 people across the central part of the nation.
To help stop the spread of the disease, the ministry advised Fijians to take the measures such as avoiding non-essential travel to outbreak areas and avoiding holding or attending large gatherings of people.
Measles is a highly contagious viral disease that is transmitted via droplets from the nose, mouth or throat of infected persons. Death may occur in up to 5-10 percent of infected young children in developing countries.
