Dhaka, June 3 (IANS) The outbreak of measles is becoming increasingly serious in Bangladesh. Seven more children died of the disease on Wednesday, taking the total number of confirmed and suspected deaths due to measles since March 15 to 601.
According to Bangladesh’s Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), these deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours till Wednesday morning. The latest seven deaths have been kept in the suspicious category.
According to the data, so far 90 deaths due to measles have been officially confirmed, while 511 deaths have been considered suspicious.
1,210 new suspected cases were identified in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of suspected cases to 74,572. At the same time, after the arrival of 55 new confirmed cases, the total number of confirmed cases has reached 9,191.
The health crisis in the country is continuously deepening. In the month of May alone, 309 deaths due to measles and its associated symptoms were recorded. This is the situation when the one and a half month special measles-rubella vaccination campaign run by the government has ended in its initial phase on May 20.
According to local media reports, more than 1,000 new cases were reported daily on most days in May. Only on May 9, 16 and 23 did the number remain less than 1,000.
Meanwhile, in May, UNICEF revealed that it had repeatedly warned the country’s then interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, about the vaccine shortage. UNICEF Bangladesh representative Rana Flowers said that health officials were being warned through letters and meetings as early as 2024 that the lack of vaccines could cause a major health crisis.
According to Rana Flowers, UNICEF sent five to six letters to the Health Ministry on this issue and raised concerns in 10 different meetings. He said that from 2024 to 2026, the government was continuously informed that it was necessary to place orders in time to ensure adequate supply of the vaccine, but this was not done.
He also informed that UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chabon had raised the issue of vaccine crisis in a meeting with the Ministry of External Affairs during his visit to Bangladesh in August 2025.
Rana Flowers said the measles outbreak is currently being investigated by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led government and UNICEF will provide necessary evidence to support the investigation.
–IANS
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