SUVA, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Fiji has recorded 23 confirmed cases of measles by Wednesday, according to the update from the Ministry of Health released on Wednesday.
The latest cases are a 13-month-old toddler and a 20-year-old from Saumakia Village in Naitasiri, one of Fiji's 14 provinces on Viti Levu the main island.
Health officials said the Naitasiri outbreak response team has carried out the necessary interventions including isolation of cases, quarantine and vaccination of contacts and at-risk communities as appropriate, and follow up of cases and contacts.
Since the outbreak was declared five weeks ago, about 235,000 people in Fiji have been immunized against measles.
Fijian health officials urged parents of children aged six months to 5 years to get their children immunized, as children under the age of 5 are most at risk.
The Health Ministry said measles is a highly contagious disease therefore non-essential travel to affected areas is discouraged.
Meanwhile there are now 76 measles-related deaths since Samoa's outbreak began reports the Samoan government
There are 126 people with measles in hospital, including 17 children in intensive care.
Forty new measles cases have been reported in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 5,371.
To date, 94 percent of the population has been vaccinated.
The state of emergency in Samoa is extended to Dec. 29, 2019 in order to administer vaccinations to the remaining population yet to be immunized, according to Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi.
