Suspected measles outbreak kills nearly 100 children in Bangladesh

Bangladesh says it suspects measles has killed at least 98 children in the past three weeks, official data show, with the capital, Dhaka, ramping up vaccination efforts in the worst affected areas.

Last week, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman directed two senior ministers to travel across the South Asian nation of 170 million people to assess the scale of the crisis to help coordinate a response.
The WHO estimated as many as 95,000 measles deaths occur globally every year, mostly among unvaccinated or undervaccinated children under the age of five, according to its latest statistics.

There is no specific treatment for measles once caught.

Bangladesh has made significant advancements in vaccinations to tackle infectious diseases, but a measles drive due in June 2024 was delayed by a deadly uprising that same year that toppled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Most Bangladeshi children receive a vaccine at nine months although many infected in the recent outbreak had been six months old, officials said.

“We committed to reducing the number to zero by December 2025 but failed to achieve the target due to poor vaccination programmes,” said Mahmudur Rahman, chief of the National Verification Committee of Measles and Rubella.

Dhaka has identified 30 of the most affected areas in the region and has started a vaccination programme. Health Minister Sardar Shakhawat Hossain Bakul said the vaccination drive will cover the “worst affected areas” before being expanded to other regions.

Tajul Islam A Bari, a former official at the Expanded Programme on Immunisation and a public health expert, told AFP that although funds had been allocated for vaccine purchases, authorities had failed to procure them.

“Now we see the result. The situation is scary,” Bari said.