A five-month-old child has been diagnosed with measles in Papua New Guinea.
The baby boy is in a stable condition at the Port Moresby hospital and will have further tests done, the hospital has confirmed to SBS News.
The infant has been admitted and remains in care, the hospital said.
Local media reported two other cases of measles detected in Papua New Guinea.
On Tuesday, the World Health Organisation said there have been more than 6,000 deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo since the start of 2019 and 300 000 suspected cases have been reported since then.
The WHO has been campaigning for more support to help Congo deal with what has been described as the world’s worst measles epidemic.
Parents in Congo said they don’t oppose vaccinations but vulnerable communities have been put at risk because of malnutrition, weak public health systems and limited access to health care.
A new threat to the Pacific
Last month, the small Pacific Island nation of Samoa dealt with its own measles outbreak.
Several young children died from the highly infectious disease and there were about 5,000 cases recorded within a population of just 200 000 people.
This month, the New South Wales Health Department also detected several measles cases.
Papua New Guinea’s Health department has been contacted for a response.
