Measles Outbreak Spreads in Dompu, Many Children Born During Pandemic
The Health Office of Dompu Regency, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), has acknowledged that the outbreak of suspected measles cases is driven by incomplete measles-rubella (MR) immunisation among young children. The immunisation gap that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic left many children vulnerable to the virus.
“Measles cases are found on average in children aged five years and below. These are all children with incomplete measles immunisation status,” stated Mariam Ulfa, Head of Disease Prevention and Control at Dompu Health Office, to detikBali on Saturday (14 March 2026).
Ulfa explained that the majority of infected children were born between 2021 and 2022. During this period, community activities were restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, causing many children to miss complete immunisation schedules.
According to Ulfa, restrictions on community activities during the pandemic impacted healthcare services, including community health centres that were temporarily shut down.
“As we all know, from 2020 Indonesia experienced a surge in COVID-19 cases, and almost all community activities were restricted, including the closure of health centres, so infants and young children at that time did not receive measles immunisation,” she explained.
She noted that the suspected measles outbreak in Dompu has now entered its ninth week. Nevertheless, case trends have begun to decline compared to the eighth week.
“The NTB provincial government declared a measles outbreak, but Dompu did not. However, Dompu Health Office’s response to measles management is equivalent to responses in areas that have declared an outbreak. The only difference is the official status designation—the outbreak response and immunisation campaigns conducted by the province are also being implemented by Dompu,” she stated.
The NTB Health Office had previously declared an extraordinary event (KLB) of suspected measles in three regions: Bima Regency, Bima City, and Dompu Regency. This declaration was made after case numbers increased significantly over recent weeks.
By week seven of 2026, a total of 985 suspected measles cases had been recorded, all from these three regions.
Lalu Hamzi Fikri, Head of the NTB Health Office, said the increase in cases was influenced by several factors, particularly the persistence of children who have not received complete MR immunisation.
“This case increase is influenced by the continued presence of groups of children who have not received complete MR immunisation. In recent years, routine immunisation coverage has also fluctuated, resulting in an accumulation of populations vulnerable to measles transmission,” he stated in an official statement received on Thursday (12 March 2026).
Hamzi explained that high population mobility during year-end and year-start periods has also contributed to disease spread. Additionally, delayed case detection and early management in the field have accelerated the pace of disease transmission.