A call for children below two years to get vaccinated has been made by the Ministry of Health following reports of possible outbreaks in New Zealand and Australia.

Acting Director General for Health Tagaloa Dr Robert Thomsen said while they are pushing for high vaccination coverage, the ministry had identified areas where immunisation rates were low.

Areas identified include the Northwest of Upolu from Saliemoa to Siufaga, Falelatai, Laulii to Leauvaa and Aleipata.

MOH urged parents to ensure that all children below two years have had their measles vaccination. The first dose is given at 12 months and the second at 15 months. Vaccination remains the most proven way to fight measles.

Tagaloa said the main immunisation centre at Motootua opens on Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm.

The 2019 Samoa measles outbreak began in September 2019. By 6 January 2020, over 5,700 cases of measles and 83 deaths had been reported. The main cause of the spread was attributed to low vaccination rates.

There has been an increase in measles cases in New Zealand. The latest has been a school in Wellington.

New Zealand remains the centre for the largest visitor arrivals in the country, and the MOH is concerned that if the immunisation rate is low, there could be an outbreak here as well.

Measles has an incubation period of 21 days, meaning that people can still carry the virus for 21 days without showing any symptoms.

Meanwhile, Health New Zealand said the recent confirmation of new measles cases unconnected to international travel suggests the highly contagious disease has likely started spreading through communities.

It said that this was a stark reminder of the pending danger of a larger measles outbreak.

“To prevent transmission once the measles virus has been introduced, a population immunity of around 95 per cent, evenly distributed throughout communities, is necessary,” said Health New Zealand.

“New Zealand does not have this level of vaccination coverage, and the main way to prevent an outbreak now is to focus on increasing the immunity of children and on closing the 'immunity gap' in the population.”

In Australia, different states have issued alerts for measles and called for vaccination. In Western Australia, 51 cases have been confirmed so far.