One of the main issues discussed at a meeting today between theHhealth Department and Attorney General’s Office is how to restrict travelers from Samoa who have not been immunized for measles from entering the territory.
However at this stage measures are being discussed and nothing has been finalized.
One of the recommendations under consideration is to require travelers from Samoa to show proof of immunizations before they can be granted entry.
This follows two highly suspected measles cases being admitted to the LBJ Hospital on Sunday.
The two are children under five from Samoa who arrived here on the Lady Naomi October 31st. Both did not have any immunization .
Health Director Motusa Tuileama Nua referred KHJ News questions to Epidemiologist Dr Afifili John Tufa who said the children are in isolation at the hospital and the measles is running its course.
Doctors are monitoring them for any complications and they seem to be doing okay.
DOH teams are also visiting the local family that the children are staying with.
While it was reported earlier that blood samples from the two children were sent on last night’s Hawaiian Air, Dr Tufa said because they only learned of the cases yesterday, there was not enough time to process the paperwork for the samples to be sent off last night.
They are planning to send the blood samples on Thursday’s flight.
In the meantime DOH is not waiting for a confirmation but treating the two as measles cases.
Dr Tufa stressed that “we do not have a measles outbreak…”only when there is a locally sourced measles case will DOH declare an outbreak.
He stressed that parents should monitor their children closely for symptoms of measles.
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