Bangladesh measles outbreak kills 528 children since mid-March, health officials say

Bangladesh's health authorities on Sunday recorded 16 more fatalities of children with measles-like symptoms, taking the death toll to 528 since mid-March. Of the new fatalities, 10 were from the Dhaka division, raising the total deaths to 224 in this division alone, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.

New cases

During the past 24 hours, 1,434 new cases of measles and measles symptoms have been registered across the country. The South Asian nation of 175 million people has struggled to confirm infections promptly because of a shortage of testing kits.

Children affected

Since March 15, a total of 442 children have died due to measles-like symptoms, with 86 losing their lives after being medically diagnosed with measles. As many as 63,813 children have reported symptoms, 50,558 were admitted to the hospital, and 46,214 recovered.

Disease background

Measles is a highly contagious viral disease that primarily affects children and can cause severe complications, including pneumonia, brain inflammation, and death, particularly among malnourished or unvaccinated children. It remains one of the leading causes of vaccine-preventable child deaths worldwide.

Vaccination response

The Health Ministry has already vaccinated more than 18.44 million children against an initial government target of 18 million set in consultation with UNICEF, WHO, and other development partners. UNICEF identified poor vaccine coverage, malnutrition, and low exclusive breastfeeding rates as factors behind the outbreak.