infants

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health Dr James Fong confirmed to the Fiji Times that the infants are in stable condition at the Lautoka Hospital.

The infants and their mothers were from a community in lockdown in Nadi.

They were recently assisted by the non-governmental organisation - Foundation of the Rural Integrated Enterprises and Development (FRIEND) Fiji.

A post on the FRIEND Fiji official social media page said they responded to a request for assistance from the community in lockdown in Nadi.

The MMR programme was halted last July following the death of two infants after they received the vaccination.

Two nurses have been charged with their manslaughter.

The World Health Organisation's representative to Samoa Rasul Baghirov said they will step-up the programme and aim to have all eligible children vaccinated by the end of April.

The potential for the measles outbreak in New Zealand to spread to Samoa has created an extra sense of urgency according to Dr Baghirov.

Restoring confidence in the programme remains a hurdle, he said.

Earlier this month a pair of one-year old infants died shortly after being given the MMR vaccination at a hospital on Savaii.

A post mortem has been completed, with results expected to be released within days.

Health investigations are also ongoing, while a police inquest is scheduled to take place next week.

Dr Ananda Amarasinghe of the World Health Organisaion's Western Pacific division was in Samoa and says MMR vaccine fatalities are extremely rare.

The causes include unsafe water, lack of sanitation, poor hygiene practices and indoor and outdoor pollution, as well as injuries.

The new numbers equate to these pollutants being the cause of one in four deaths of children 1 month to 5 years old.

One new report highlights that the most common causes of child death are preventable through interventions already available to the communities most affected. These causes are diarrhea, malaria and pneumonia, which can be prevented using insecticide-treated bed nets, clean cooking fuels and improved access to clean water.