East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa has ordered mass measles-rubella vaccinations, also known as outbreak response immunisation (ORI), to address the measles outbreak in Sumenep Regency, Madura, East Java.
Parawansa stated that the East Java Provincial Government had sent 9,825 vials of the MR vaccine from the Indonesian Ministry of Health to the Sumenep Health Office for the vaccination programme, which began on Monday, 25th of August, and is targeted for completion by Sunday, 14th of September 2025.
Sumenep Regency is currently experiencing a measles outbreak. According to the latest data, there have been 2,035 suspected measles cases, of which 17 have reportedly resulted in death. Sixteen of these victims had never been immunised, while one had received incomplete immunisations.
“Today’s simultaneous immunisation is being carried out in Sumenep. The vaccines from the Ministry of Health have already been distributed. They have also been distributed by the provincial government. I went there two days ago to ensure that today’s simultaneous immunisation can be carried out more comprehensively,” said Parawansa in Surabaya on Monday.
In addition to mass immunisations, the East Java Provincial Government is also conducting epidemiological training on the Penyakit yang Dapat Dicegah dengan Imunisasi (PD3I) outbreak—Diseases That Can Be Prevented by Immunisation—for all community health centres, while expanding its coordination network with other regions in Greater Madura and Greater Surabaya.
“Involving Greater Surabaya is also crucial to prevent measles from spreading to other areas. At the same time, we are also moving quickly to implement widespread immunisation, especially for children,” Parawansa further explained.
Measles is an acute infectious disease caused by a virus belonging to the genus Morbillivirus in the family Paramyxoviridae. Symptoms typically appear seven to 14 days after infection, starting with a high fever, cough, runny nose, and red eyes (conjunctivitis), followed by the appearance of Koplik’s spots in the mouth before a red rash spreads from the face to the rest of the body.
Measles can be transmitted through droplets from coughing, sneezing, or talking, as well as through contaminated air.