Alternative therapists push 'healing water' amid measles crisis in Samoa

Desperate parents are turning to alternative healers in Samoa as a measles epidemic continues to rock the Pacific nation.

A state of emergency was declared this week in a bid to contain the spread of measles, which has claimed 20 lives to date - 19 of them children under the age of five.

Samoa's government has ordered compulsory vaccinations, and a mass immunisation campaign is underway, but authorities fear the situation is going to get worse before it gets better.

The crisis has seen some parents turning to questionable alternative therapies in a bid to save their children from the disease.

Local businessman Fritz Alaiasa Neufelt claimed his product, which he called "Kangen Water", had healing properties.

Mr Neufelt did not claim his water could cure measles, but said spraying it on sick children and getting them to drink it would alleviate the symptoms of the disease.

"They're feeling good," he said. "The measles are already … not cured, but it's already back to normal," he said.

The product is just tap water put through a filter in his kitchen, but those who had paid for it, like mother Janet Vaitagutu, believed it had helped.

"It's really good for curing the virus," Ms Vaitagutu said.

The Samoan government has banned large gatherings to try to contain the measles epidemic, but parents continued showing up seeking Mr Neufelt's treatment.

The government says there have been more than 1644 cases since the outbreak began last month