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View all search resultsMeasles outbreak hits Sumenep amid declining childhood immunization
Sumenep Health Agency’s Achmad Syamsuri said authorities suspect the recent measles outbreak in the regency was triggered by a decline in pediatric immunizations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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An alarming global surge in measles cases poses a serious threat to children and more efforts are needed to improve vaccine coverage, according to the UN Children's Fund. (Shutterstock/Jarun Ontakrai)
H
ealth authorities are scrambling to contain a measles outbreak in Sumenep, East Java, which has killed a dozen children and infected almost 2,000 others in the regency since the start of the year.
Sumenep Health Agency’s Head of Disease Prevention and Control, Achmad Syamsuri, said the East Java administration had delivered more than 18,000 vials of measles vaccine, equivalent to around 80,000 doses, to the regency on Thursday, as part of emergency immunization efforts to contain the outbreak.
“Starting Monday, we will launch an emergency response immunization targeting 78,560 children between the ages of 9 months and 5 years in the regency,” Syamsuri said on Thursday, as quoted by national radio station RRI.
“We hope this vaccination effort will help curb the spread of the measles outbreak and prevent further fatalities,” he added.
The Sumenep Health Agency has recorded 1,944 measles cases between January and August 17, with 12 reported fatalities.
In response to the alarming surge in infections, the agency declared a public health emergency earlier this month to strengthen containment and prevention efforts.
Read also: Childhood vaccination: Let’s pull together to reverse the decline
