Bangladesh Measles-Linked Deaths Surpass 290

(MENAFN) Ten more children have died from measles and measles-like symptoms in Bangladesh, health authorities announced Sunday, pushing the cumulative death toll to 294 since the outbreak first erupted in mid-March.

The Directorate General of Health Services reported more than 1,260 new infections within a single 24-hour period, driving the total confirmed caseload past 45,800 nationwide.

The capital, Dhaka, has borne the heaviest toll, accounting for 149 fatalities. The city is also experiencing a surge in patient transfers, as families from rural communities travel to Dhaka seeking advanced medical care, including access to life-support facilities unavailable in local hospitals.

Compounding the crisis, Bangladesh is grappling with a severe nationwide shortage of diagnostic testing kits, hampering authorities' ability to accurately track and contain the spread of the disease.

The World Health Organization warned last month that measles had penetrated 58 of the country's 64 districts — representing 91% of the nation's administrative territories — signaling what it described as "widespread transmission nationally."

In response, the Health Ministry has mobilized emergency vaccination campaigns, inoculating more than 16.23 million children since April alone. However, the WHO has directly linked the scale of the outbreak to a prolonged collapse in routine vaccination coverage, attributing it to a nationwide vaccine stockout that persisted throughout 2024 and into 2025.

Measles is among the most contagious viral diseases known to medicine, primarily targeting children and carrying a heightened risk of fatal complications — including pneumonia and brain inflammation — particularly among malnourished or unvaccinated populations. It remains one of the leading causes of vaccine-preventable child mortality across the globe.

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