Doctors, nurses' Eid leave cancelled as measles outbreak claims 512 lives

Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain announced the cancellation of Eid-ul-Azha leave for doctors and nurses involved in treating measles patients and providing emergency healthcare. The decision aims to bolster the healthcare response to the escalating measles outbreak.

The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) reported that the death toll from measles and measles-like symptoms has risen to 512 as of today. Since March 15, a total of 62,507 suspected measles cases have been recorded nationwide, with 8,494 confirmed cases over the past three months.

During the same period, 49,389 suspected measles patients were admitted to hospitals. Of these, 45,011 have recovered and been released. The ongoing outbreak highlights significant challenges in the country's public health system.

This situation follows warnings from UNICEF Bangladesh. On May 20, UNICEF stated it had alerted the interim government multiple times about a shortage of measles vaccines, which could lead to such an outbreak. Rana Flowers, UNICEF representative to Bangladesh, noted that these warnings began in 2024, indicating a forewarning of the current crisis.

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From 2024, we were warning the government that the shortage of vaccines could lead to an outbreak.