Measles Outbreak Threatens, IDAI Records Thousands of Cases and Calls for Catching Up on Children's Immunization
JAKARTA - The case of an extraordinary incident (KLB) of measles is once again a concern in Indonesia. The surge in the number of cases in recent times has made health workers remind of the importance of accelerating immunization to protect children from this highly contagious disease.
The Indonesian Association of Pediatricians (IDAI) reported a significant increase in measles cases up to week 7 of 2026. A total of 8,224 suspected cases were recorded, with 572 confirmed cases and four deaths.
For comparison, in 2025 there were 63,769 suspected measles cases, with 11,094 confirmed cases and 69 deaths. Given this condition, IDAI invites parents, health workers, and the government to jointly accelerate immunization efforts for children.
The Chairman of the IDAI Central Board, Piprim Basarah Yanuarso, emphasized that protection of children must be a common priority.
"We must act quickly to protect Indonesian children. Immunization is a child's basic right and our obligation to ensure that every child is protected," said Piprim as quoted by ANTARA.
He assessed that this situation requires quick action from all stakeholders. Based on data from the World Health Organization (WHO) released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as of February 2026, Indonesia even ranked second in the world's highest measles cases with 10,744 cases, after Yemen and above India.
To overcome this situation, IDAI recommends several strategic steps, one of which is to accelerate the measles-rubella immunization program for children aged 9 months to less than 15 years who have not received the vaccine.
In addition, strengthening the disease surveillance system is also considered important. Currently, the coverage of the second dose of measles-rubella immunization (MR2) has only reached 82.3 percent in 2024, still far from the national target of 95 percent which is necessary to form herd immunity.
The Chairman of the IDAI Immunization Task Force, Hartono Gunardi, said that one of the causes of increased susceptibility to measles was the disruption of routine immunization services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a very significant disruption of routine immunization services. Many children miss their immunization schedule, and this creates pockets of vulnerability in various areas," he said.
He also emphasized that the measles rubella vaccine used in Indonesia has undergone strict evaluation and obtained a distribution permit from the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM).
In addition to immunization, IDAI also highlights the importance of proper treatment of measles patients. Because there is no specific antiviral for this disease, the treatment given is supportive and symptomatic.
"In handling measles, there is one intervention that has been proven to be able to reduce the mortality rate by 50 percent, namely the administration of vitamin A according to WHO recommendations," said Hartono.
Another equally important preventive measure is the isolation of patients to avoid wider transmission. The measles virus can be transmitted from four days before to four days after the appearance of the rash on the patient's body.
IDAI also reminded that measles is not a mild disease because it can cause serious complications such as pneumonia, encephalitis, and even death.
"Death from measles is a death that should not happen. We have safe, effective, and free prevention tools at health facilities," said Piprim.
Therefore, IDAI invites the public not to delay immunization and immediately take children to health facilities if symptoms leading to measles appear. Education to the public is also considered an important key to increasing awareness about the dangers of this disease.