Dhaka, July 5 (IANS). In Bangladesh, seven more children have died due to measles-like symptoms till 8 am on Sunday. This brings the total number of deaths due to measles (both confirmed and suspected) in the country so far in 2026 to 738.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), these deaths have been recorded as ‘suspected measles’ cases.
The latest figures bring the death toll from suspected measles in the country to 645, while the number of deaths from lab-confirmed measles stands at 93, reports United News of Bangladesh.
925 new suspected measles cases were reported during the same period, taking the total number of suspected cases nationwide to 1,05,618. In addition, 106 new confirmed measles cases were also reported. This brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases so far to 12,632.
According to DGHS data, 88,844 patients have been hospitalized with suspected measles since March 15. Of these, 85,122 people have recovered and gone home.
According to reports, the infections continued to rise even as suspected measles cases crossed one lakh, despite a drive to vaccinate 1.84 crore children in May.
In June, health experts said vaccination had not been completed in some areas, and measures to prevent infection were not properly implemented. For this reason the cases kept increasing. He also warned that now with the arrival of dengue season, the danger to already sick children may increase further.
According to the report of Bangladesh’s well-known newspaper The Daily Star, public health expert Mushtaq Hossain said that there are two main reasons for the measles cases not decreasing. Not meeting the vaccination target of 95 percent in every area and not properly following the rules to prevent infection in hospitals and communities.
According to the report, Hussain said that necessary steps like isolation and quarantine were almost ignored, although these are very important to control the disease. He also said that due to lack of time, the target of the vaccination campaign was decided online while sitting in the offices, due to which the planning could not be done properly. Because of this many children may have been left out from getting vaccinated.
Hussain suggested that a new vaccination campaign should be launched for all children under five years of age and proper planning should be done through door-to-door visits so that the cases of measles can be reduced.
–IANS
AY/PM