Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin highlighted the high number of child deaths due to measles. He said there are still many parents in Indonesia who do not understand that measles is a deadly disease and can actually be prevented through vaccination.
“It’s true, there are still quite a lot of mothers and fathers who don’t understand that measles can be deadly,” said Budi when contacted coilWednesday (4/3).
Budi explained that low public awareness of the importance of vaccination is one of the main factors in the increase in measles cases in the country.
As a result, this disease, which could have been prevented, continues to spread and cause fatalities, especially to children.
“And (measles) can be prevented with vaccines,” he said.
Based on data from the Indonesian Ministry of Health for the period 2025–2026, it was recorded that 72 children in Indonesia died due to measles. This disease is caused by a virus that is very easily transmitted through the air, such as droplets from coughing or sneezing.
Measles is dangerous because it can trigger serious complications, ranging from respiratory failure due to pneumonia, seizures due to inflammation of the brain, to severe dehydration which can lead to death.
Meanwhile, measles cases in Indonesia have continued to increase recently. Moreover, after the Australian government announced that 2 of its citizens had contracted measles after traveling from Indonesia, attention regarding this disease has increased again.
Based on information released by the Ministry of Health, measles has increased due to decreased immunization coverage. Several areas had recorded extraordinary events (KLB).
Measles is a respiratory tract infection caused by morbillivirus. One sick person can infect up to 18 people.
Measles can cause serious illness such as shortness of breath due to inflammation, seizures due to inflammation of the brain, dehydration due to diarrhea, progressive brain damage such as subacute sclerosing Panencephalitis until death. Measles can be prevented by immunization or MR vaccine.
