Daijiworld Media Network - Dhaka
Dhaka, Oct 18: Seven children died from measles-like symptoms in Bangladesh in the 24 hours till 8 am on Sunday, taking the total number of fatalities linked to the country’s ongoing measles outbreak to 1,196, according to official figures.
All seven latest fatalities have been classified as suspected measles deaths, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said. With these deaths, the number of suspected fatalities rose to 1,092, while confirmed deaths remained at 104, the Dhaka Tribune reported.
As many as 1,254 suspected measles cases were reported in the 24 hours till Sunday morning, taking the cumulative number of suspected cases to 213,244. During the same period, 65 new confirmed cases were reported, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 23,122.
Since March 15, a total of 189,484 suspected measles patients have been admitted to hospitals across Bangladesh. Of these, 181,756 have recovered and been discharged, according to the DGHS, the Dhaka Tribune reported.
Despite Bangladesh resuming vaccine procurement through UNICEF in April, followed by an emergency vaccination drive, the outbreak is unlikely to be contained quickly because of the speed at which the infection is spreading, former DGHS Director of Disease Control Benazir Ahmed said last week, The Daily Star reported.
Public health experts have linked the resurgence to gaps in earlier vaccination coverage and shortcomings in hospital and patient management, including delays in detecting infected children and isolating them at home.
Speaking to The Daily Star, public health expert Mushtuq Husain said children generally require three to four weeks after vaccination to develop sufficient immunity.
“Therefore, the current wave of infections, hospitalisations and deaths may continue for at least another month,” he added.
Earlier, an international advocacy group described the 2026 measles outbreak as one of Bangladesh’s worst public health crises in recent history, highlighting concerns over the spread of a disease that can be prevented through vaccination.
In its report titled ‘Preventable Tragedy: Bangladesh's 2026 Measles Outbreak’, Canada-based Global Centre for Democratic Governance (GCDG) said that although the outbreak appeared sudden to the public, it was not unexpected from an epidemiological perspective.
The report attributed the crisis to a combination of disruptions to vaccine supplies and health programmes in 2024-2025 under the former interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, missed routine vaccinations, cancellations of scheduled supplementary immunisation programmes, administrative delays in vaccine procurement and a failure to promptly identify at-risk populations.