Measles Death Toll Hits 251 in Bangladesh

(MENAFN) Bangladesh recorded 11 additional deaths tied to measles-like symptoms within a single 24-hour window, pushing the overall death toll to 251 since mid-March, the country's Health Ministry announced Saturday.

Of those fatalities logged since the Directorate General of Health Services began tracking the outbreak, only 42 have been medically confirmed as measles-related deaths — a figure health officials attribute to a critical shortage of diagnostic testing kits, which has severely hampered their ability to verify infections.

Suspected cases have climbed to 30,607 nationally, while laboratory-confirmed infections stand at 4,460 since March 15, the health directorate disclosed in its latest bulletin.

Facing mounting pressure, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman addressed parliament this week, stating that his administration was mobilizing a dedicated vaccination drive and taking active steps to resolve the acute testing kit shortfall.

In response, the Health Ministry launched an emergency vaccination campaign on April 5, inoculating over one million children to date.

The World Health Organization issued a stark warning Thursday, noting that infections have now spread across 58 of Bangladesh's 64 districts — roughly 91% of the country — signaling "widespread transmission nationally."

The WHO also pointed to a nationwide vaccine stockout between 2024 and 2025 as a key driver behind the deteriorating coverage rates that allowed the outbreak to take hold — a sobering reversal for a nation that had previously made significant strides toward measles elimination.

Measles, a highly infectious viral disease, poses the gravest danger to malnourished and unvaccinated children, carrying the risk of fatal complications including pneumonia and brain inflammation, and continues to rank among the world's leading causes of vaccine-preventable child mortality.

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