Bangladesh measles outbreak claims five more lives, death toll nears 900
Dhaka, Aug 12 (IANS) At least five children died from the measles outbreak in Bangladesh on Wednesday, raising the total number of confirmed and suspected deaths to 885 this year, amid an escalating health crisis in the country, local media reported.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the deaths were reported in the 24 hours leading up to Wednesday morning.
Among the latest fatalities from the disease, one was identified as a confirmed measles death while the remaining four were classified as suspected deaths, Bangladeshi media outlet UNB reported.
Reports suggest that while the number of confirmed deaths has risen to 99, the total number of suspected deaths climbed to 786.
The DGHS recorded a total of 941 new suspected measles cases during the 24-hour period, bringing the overall tally of suspected cases to 139,125.
Additionally, 84 new confirmed cases were reported, increasing the total to 17,469 during the same period.
As Bangladesh continues to witness a sharp increase in measles cases, a leading international advocacy group recently described the 2026 outbreak as one of the country’s worst public health crises in recent history, highlighting the concern that the disease is preventable through vaccination.
In its latest report titled ‘Preventable Tragedy: Bangladesh’s 2026 Measles Outbreak’, Canada-based Global Centre for Democratic Governance (GCDG) said that although the measles outbreak appeared sudden to the public, it was not an unexpected event from an “epidemiological perspective”.
The report noted that the crisis resulted from a combination of disruptions to vaccine supply and health programs in 2024-2025 during the former interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, along with missed routine vaccinations, cancellations of scheduled supplementary immunisation programmes, administrative delays in vaccine procurement, and a failure to promptly identify at-risk populations.
According to GCDG, Bangladesh had long procured WHO-approved vaccines through the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)’s international supply chain; however, the interim government replaced this system with an open tender procurement process. Citing UNICEF, the report said the agency repeatedly warned the interim government of a potential vaccine shortage through five to six formal letters and around 10 meetings held between 2024 and 2026.
Referring to Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) data reported by Bangladeshi daily Samakal, the GCDG noted that measles vaccination coverage fell to 56.2 per cent in 2025, the lowest level recorded between 2017 and 2025.
It added that WHO later identified the nationwide stock-out of the Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccine in Bangladesh during 2024-2025 and the lack of regular vaccination as the main contributors to the decline in immunity among children and the 2026 outbreak.
–IANS
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