DHAKA: 118 dead, mostly children, as measles outbreak worsens in Bangladesh

DHAKA: As Bangladesh grapples with a measles outbreak, a total of 118 people, mostly children, died from the suspected cases, local media reported on Tuesday, citing the country’s Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

According to the DGHS, the fatalities have been recorded since March 15, including five deaths in the 24-hour period ending Monday morning.

Reports suggest another two children died with the symptoms of an infectious disease at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH), bringing the total number of such deaths at the facility to 42.

Confirming the recent fatalities, hospital spokesperson Shankar Kumar Biswas confirmed that deaths occurred over a 24-hour span, Sunday to Monday morning, the Bangladeshi daily Dhaka Tribune reported.

Experts warned that in the absence of systemic reform, emergency measures taken to control the measles outbreak are unlikely to yield significant benefits. Benazir Ahmed, a health expert and former director of disease control at the DGHS, said that the previous Muhammad Yunus-led interim government’s sudden cancellation of the sectoral programme, which provided funds for vaccination, sparked a measles vaccine crisis, resulting in the deaths of many children.

 “When we are supposed to celebrate something positive on World Health Day, we have to fight an outbreak, which is very unfortunate. We are supposed to eliminate measles-rubella by 2026, but we are struggling with the growing number of measles patients at hospitals,” Bangladesh’s leading newspaper, Daily Star, quoted Ahmed as saying. (IANS)

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