Daijiworld Media Network - Dhaka
Dhaka, Oct 11: Eight more children died from suspected measles symptoms in Bangladesh on Saturday, taking the reported death toll from the outbreak in 2026 to 1,155, local media reported.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the deaths were reported in the 24 hours leading up to Saturday morning.
The latest eight fatalities were classified as suspected measles deaths, Bangladeshi media outlet UNB reported. While confirmed deaths remained at 104, the number of suspected deaths rose to 1,051.
The DGHS recorded 955 new suspected measles cases during the 24-hour period, taking the overall tally to 203,848. Another 131 confirmed cases were reported, increasing the total number of confirmed cases to 22,328.
Despite Bangladesh resuming vaccine procurement through UNICEF in April, followed by an emergency vaccination drive, the outbreak is unlikely to be contained quickly due to the rapid spread of the disease, Be-nazir Ahmed, former director of disease control at the DGHS, told Bangladesh's leading newspaper, The Daily Star.
Last week, public health experts linked the resurgence to gaps in previous 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 said.
Recently, the Canada-based Global Centre for Democratic Governance (GCDG), an international advocacy group, described the 2026 measles outbreak as one of Bangladesh's worst public health crises in recent history, highlighting the fact that the disease is preventable through vaccination.
In its report titled *‘Preventable Tragedy: Bangladesh's 2026 Measles Outbreak’*, the organisation 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. It also cited gaps in routine immunisation, the cancellation of scheduled supplementary immunisation programmes, administrative delays in vaccine procurement and a failure to promptly identify populations at risk.