Bangladesh measles outbreak death toll rises to 656 as four more children die

Dhaka, June 15 (IANS) As many as four children have died from measles and measles-like symptoms in Bangladesh in the 24 hours until 8 am (local time) on Monday, raising the total number of fatalities in the country to 656, local media reported.

The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has classified one fatality as confirmed measles death while three others as suspected. The latest update has taken the number of suspected measles fatalities to 563, while the number of laboratory confirmed measles death has risen to 93, United News of Bangladesh (UNB) reported.

During the 24-hour period, 972 new suspected measles cases were reported in Bangladesh, raising the number of suspected cases in the country to 86,923. As many as 64 new confirmed measles were reported during the same period, taking the total number of laboratory-confirmed infections to 10,387.

Since March 15, a total of 71,467 patients with suspected measles have been admitted to hospitals in Bangladesh. Among them, 67,878 patients have recovered, according to the DGHS, United News of Bangladesh (UNB) reported.

Bangladesh’s severe measles outbreak continues to spread despite government claims that vaccination coverage has exceeded 100 per cent of the targeted children, raising concerns among immunisation experts about vaccine effectiveness and coverage gaps, leading Bangladeshi daily Dhaka Tribune reported.

More than a month after a nationwide emergency measles vaccination drive concluded, hospitals across the country admit more than 1,000 children daily with measles or measles-like symptoms, while fatalities continue to rise.

“Measles transmission should decline significantly once vaccine coverage exceeds 90 per cent. If vaccination has truly reached the reported level, then infections should have fallen much more sharply by now,” Dhaka Tribune quoted Be-Nazir Ahmed, former Director of the government’s disease control branch, as saying.

According to Be-Nazir Ahmed, official targets may not accurately reflect the true size of the eligible children.

“In some cases, coverage may appear to be 100 per cent on paper while thousands of children remain unvaccinated in reality,” he added.

Last month, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said that it had repeatedly warned the country’s earlier interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, both through written communication and meetings with Health Ministry officials, about vaccine shortages that could trigger a major health crisis.

Addressing a press briefing in Dhaka, Rana Flowers, UNICEF representative to Bangladesh, said that the UN agency sent five to six letters to the health authorities on the issue and raised the matter in 10 meetings during the tenure of the previous interim government.

“From 2024, we were warning the government that the shortage of vaccines could lead to an outbreak. From 2024 to 2025 and into 2026, we sent letters, and we had 10 different meetings, signalling this was a problem and that orders for vaccines needed to be given. They could not,” The Daily Star quoted Flowers as saying.

According to Flowers, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban raised concerns over vaccine shortages at a meeting with the Foreign Ministry during his visit to Bangladesh in August last year.

–IANS

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