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Central Papua sees measles cases spike
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Indonesia saw 32 times more measles cases in 2022 than the year before, amid a slump in routine pediatric immunizations blamed on the COVID-19 pandemic. (Shutterstock/Jarun Ontakrai)
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mid lagging pediatric vaccination, Central Papua is struggling to curb the spread of measles in the newly created province, as health authorities report close to 400 cases since the start of the year.
Between Jan. 1 and March 3, there were 397 cases of measles recorded in Central Papua’s seven out of eight regencies, which were carved out of Papua province some eight months ago.
This was a sharp increase compared with previous years, with Mimika regency being hardest hit so far, followed by Nabire and Paniai regencies, said the Health Ministry’s director general for disease control and prevention, Maxi Rein Rondonuwu.
“Two deaths have been recorded, one case in Nabire and the other in Paniai," Maxi said in a statement on Saturday, adding that a further 19 cases were still receiving medical treatment.
Maxi said that the recent surge in measles infections could be put down to Central Papua’s slow measles and rubella (MR) immunization rollout.
"Based on our findings in the field, 87 percent of reported [measles] cases have never received the MR immunization. This is true for most age groups," Maxi said, adding that the low coverage put Central Papua at risk of more measles cases.
According to Health Ministry records, only 64 percent of children in Central Papua have had their first dose of the MR immunization. The coverage is even lower, at 48 percent, for the second dose of the immunization.
