Amidst observing the fast, Eko Nopianto felt chills throughout his\nbody and discomfort in his throat. Initially, Eko thought his symptoms\nwere just a flare-up of his acid reflux. He tried treating his illness\nwith paracetamol alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut when I broke my fast, alhamdulillah, I could eat comfortably,\nwith no complaints in my stomach,\u201d said the 23-year-old man to detikX\nlast week.<\/p>\n
Eko eventually realised that the symptoms he was experiencing were\nnot from acid reflux. Because that night, instead of improving, the\nsymptoms worsened. In addition to chills and difficulty swallowing, Eko\nfelt an extremely severe headache.<\/p>\n
The next day, Eko\u2019s eyes began to feel dry and red. He started having\ntrouble looking at his phone screen when lying in bed. For more than\nfour days, Eko experienced these symptoms without relief until he\ndecided to seek treatment at the community health centre.<\/p>\n
After being examined by a doctor at the community health centre\u2019s\nemergency unit, Eko finally learned that his symptoms were not acid\nreflux, but measles. The doctor said there was a possibility that Eko\nhad not been vaccinated against measles.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I confirmed with my parents, and it turned out to be true that I\nhad never been vaccinated against measles,\u201d Eko revealed.<\/p>\n
Eko recounted that when he was young, his parents were reluctant to\ngive him the measles vaccine because they were worried it would cause\nfever. That decision later made Eko\u2019s parents quite regretful because\ntheir child was now vulnerable to the virus.<\/p>\n
A doctor attends to a toddler patient undergoing measles vaccination\nat Ibrahim Adjie Community Health Centre in Bandung, West Java, on\nFriday (27\/3\/2026).<\/p>\n
After experiencing the illness himself, Eko realised that measles is\nindeed terrifying. The disease kept Eko bedridden in hospital for\nseveral days. His body felt weak, and his temperature fluctuated for\nnearly a month. Eko had to take good care of his health even after\nrecovering from the illness.<\/p>\n
Epidemiologist from Griffith University Australia, Dicky Budiman,\nstated that measles is a disease that can resolve on its own. However,\nif ignored, its impact can be very dangerous. In the short term, measles\ncan even cause death. In the medium term, measles can lead to risks of\nother infections due to immune amnesia. Measles survivors can be\nsusceptible to other bacterial infections, including pneumonia, which\ncan be fatal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe body loses its defences. It\u2019s like a city without walls or\nsoldiers. So other diseases can easily enter. This is something that the\npublic often doesn\u2019t realise,\u201d Dicky said via telephone to detikX.<\/p>\n
Lately, measles has indeed been outbreak in Indonesia. Data from the\nMinistry of Health shows a drastic increase in measles cases in the\nfirst week of this year. The number once reached 2,932 cases nationally,\nthough it has slowly declined to just 330 cases in week 14 of 2026.<\/p>\n
The sufferers are not only from the children\u2019s group, but also adults\nlike Eko. In Garut, one of the districts with the highest spread of\nmeasles cases, there are at least nine adults exposed to measles out of\na total of 110 cases.<\/p>\n
Head of the Garut District Health Office, Leli Yuliani, revealed that\nthe adults affected by measles are in the 18-45 age range. The majority\nof them had never received measles immunisation since childhood.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, Leli acknowledged that efforts to expand measles\nimmunisation coverage are not easy. Last year, the measles immunisation\nachievement in Garut District only reached 88 percent. This year, it is\naround 83 percent of the target of 168,000 toddlers. In three\nsub-districts with the highest case spread, especially in the southern\nregion of Garut District, namely Pameungpeuk, Cibalong, and Cikelet, the\ncoverage is even below 50 percent. This figure, said Leli, is still\nbelow the immunisation coverage standard to achieve herd immunity\nrecommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), which is 95\npercent.<\/p>\n
Several challenges still hinder efforts to expand measles\nimmunisation coverage. One of them, said Leli, is the relatively lower\neducation factor in southern Garut compared to other areas. This impacts\npublic understanding of the benefits of the measles vaccine.<\/p>\n
In addition, there is still a trust factor that prohibits measles\nimmunisation. As a result, many parents are afraid to give their\nchildren the vaccine, considering it a sin. Moreover, said Leli, there\nis much disinformation and hoaxes related to vaccines during the\nCOVID-19 pandemic that made some parents view vaccines as\nfrightening.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen, many parents work in the city. Their children are taken to the\ncity but not immunised. When they return to the area, they are also not\nimmunised. There are also children cared for by grandparents or\nrelatives, so when it comes to immunisation, there is often reluctance\nbecause after immunisation, children usually become fussy,\u201d Leli\nadded.<\/p>\n
Similar issues are faced in Aceh Province, which is also one of the\nareas with the highest number of cases, around 5,100 cases up to March\n2026. Head of Disease Prevention and Control at the Aceh Health Office,\nIman Murahman, stated that the high number of measles cases in Aceh is\ndue to low immunisation coverage.<\/p>\n
Last year alone, measles-rubella immunisation coverage in Aceh only\nreached 39 percent. The lowest achievement was in Pidie District with\nonly 8.4 percent of a total of 8,000 infants. Even the previous year,\nthe achievement was only 4 percent.<\/p>\n
Health workers at Pragaan Community Health Centre examine a measles\npatient in Pragaan, Sumenep, East Java, on Wednesday (27\/8\/2025).<\/p>\n
Iman revealed that expanding measles vaccine coverage in Aceh,\nespecially in Pidie District, still faces several challenges. One of\nthem is distrust of the vaccine. Many residents of Pidie do not\ntrust<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/beware-of-measles-vaccination-hoaxes-1777384345", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }