Child deaths linked to measles near 1,000 in Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s reported child death toll linked to measles and measles-like symptoms rose to 991 on Saturday after four more deaths in the previous 24 hours. The Directorate General of Health Services said 100 of the deaths had been confirmed as measles fatalities.

The Dhaka division recorded 464 deaths. Health authorities also reported 843 new cases involving measles-like symptoms and 74 newly confirmed infections, taking the totals to 163,105 symptomatic cases and 19,641 confirmed cases.

Since mid-March, 143,214 infected children have been admitted to hospitals nationwide. Of those, 137,921 recovered and were discharged, according to the Health Ministry’s health services directorate.

Bangladesh, a densely populated country of about 175 million people, has struggled to contain the outbreak amid low vaccination coverage, the World Health Organization said. The country once had herd immunity against measles, but the WHO said it has lost that protection in recent years as vaccination coverage declined.

Since April 5, the Health Ministry has immunized nearly 19.48 million children through a special program alongside routine vaccinations. Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain said a new nationwide campaign would begin toward the end of the month as the outbreak continued.