“Calls are emerging in Samoa for a national inquiry into how the measles epidemic spread so quickly across the country.
“As of Wednesday, the death toll from the epidemic is 77.
“Medical academic Toleafoa Dr Viali Lameko, from Oceania University of Medicine, said he believed most doctors were backing his call.
“Toleafoa told the Samoa Observer that measles infections typically only had minor health consequences for infected patients, with outbreaks occurring in small numbers every year in smaller communities, worldwide.
“Any inquiry needed to examine not only the medical system but the broader factors outside it which had influenced the health of the population, he said.
“Toleafoa said he was "not here to attack anyone or any sector, but perhaps it is time to return to the drawing board and ask some serious questions about the health profile of our population".
“Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has already promised there will be an inquiry into the government's response to the crisis in "due time".
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