Dhaka, May 22 (IANS). In Bangladesh, 11 children died in the last 24 hours due to measles and its similar symptoms. With this, the death toll since March 15 has increased to 499.
According to local media reports, nine of the latest deaths are considered suspected measles-related deaths, while two deaths have been confirmed to be caused by measles. This information was given by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The total deaths so far include 414 deaths linked to suspected and 85 confirmed measles cases.
According to DGHS, 1,261 suspected measles cases have been reported in Bangladesh in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of suspected cases to 60,540.
54 new confirmed measles cases were also confirmed during the same period, bringing the total number of infected people to 8,329.
According to the report, since March 15, 47,511 suspected measles patients have been admitted to hospital, of which 43,411 have recovered and returned home.
Amid the rapidly spreading measles infection in Bangladesh, UNICEF has claimed that it had warned the earlier interim government, led by Mohammad Yunus, several times about the shortage of vaccine.
At a press conference held in Dhaka, UNICEF representative in Bangladesh, Rana Flowers, said that the UN agency had sent five to six letters to the Health Ministry on this issue and the matter was also raised in 10 meetings during the tenure of the interim government.
He said, “Since 2024, we were warning the government that the lack of vaccine could cause a major health crisis. From 2024 to 2026, we continuously sent letters and made it clear in many meetings that immediate purchase of the vaccine is necessary, but this was not done.”
Rana Flowers said that UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaban had also expressed concern over the vaccine crisis in a meeting with the Ministry of External Affairs during his visit to Bangladesh in August last year.
He also said UNICEF would provide all necessary evidence in the investigation launched by the BNP-led government to investigate the measles outbreak.
–IANS
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