JAKARTA (Bernama): Indonesia’s Health Ministry has intensified epidemiological investigations and strengthened surveillance efforts after receiving formal notification from Australian health authorities of a measles case linked to travel history from Indonesia.
The ministry’s Head of Communication and Public Information Bureau Aji Muhawarman said the ministry is coordinating with Australian authorities and the World Health Organisation (WHO) Indonesia to ensure the response aligns with international standards.
He said the notification was conveyed through the International Health Regulations (IHR) mechanism via the Australian IHR Focal Point and had been verified and followed up by the ministry’s Public Health Emergency Operation Centre (PHEOC).
"The case involves an 18-year-old female who is an Australian citizen and had been visiting Bandung. She has a history of complete MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) vaccinations in 2009 and 2012 and travelled on Batik Air on the Jakarta-Perth route on Feb 7-8, 2026.
"The rash appeared on Feb 8 in Perth and the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test result was positive. Currently, one case has been reported and there are no fatalities,” he said according to ANTARA News Agency, on Sunday.
Aji said Australian authorities were still conducting further investigations and had yet to provide additional details.
To date, he said epidemiological investigations conducted by the West Java Provincial Health Office have found no additional related cases.
He said no national measles outbreak has been declared and monitoring continues through an active surveillance system.
Aji urged the public to ensure their measles immunisations are up to date particularly for those travelling internationally.
"People experiencing symptoms of fever and rash are advised to immediately seek medical attention at the nearest health facility and those infected with measles are advised to limit contact with others to prevent transmission,” he said. -- Bernama
