Daijiworld Media Network - Dhaka
Dhaka, Nov 15: Bangladesh's unprecedented measles outbreak has claimed eight more children's lives in the 24 hours till 8 am on Sunday, taking the total number of confirmed and suspected measles-related deaths in the country in 2026 to 1,314.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the latest fatalities have been classified as suspected measles deaths. With this, suspected deaths have increased to 1,209, while confirmed deaths remain unchanged at 105, the United News of Bangladesh (UNB) reported.
During the 24-hour period, Bangladesh reported 1,414 new suspected measles cases, taking the cumulative number to 2,48,060.
Another 158 laboratory-confirmed cases were reported during the same period, pushing the total number of confirmed infections to 25,269.
DGHS data showed that 21,539 patients with suspected measles have been admitted to hospitals across the country since March 15. A total of 2,12,402 patients have recovered from the disease, UNB reported.
Meanwhile, former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last month blamed what she described as "state negligence" and the collapse of the country's decades-old immunisation system for the measles epidemic.
Speaking to The Sunday Guardian, Hasina accused the former Muhammad Yunus-led interim administration of disrupting vaccine procurement through its political and administrative decisions, resulting in a significant immunisation gap.
She alleged that Bangladesh's measles-rubella vaccine stocks were exhausted in March 2026, followed by a sharp decline in vaccination coverage. She further claimed that the authorities failed to launch a supplementary immunisation campaign at the scheduled time.
Hasina also criticised the current BNP government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, alleging that it failed to take adequate measures even after the seriousness of the outbreak became evident.
"More than one thousand children dying from a preventable disease is not an ordinary administrative failure," she said.
The former Prime Minister called for uninterrupted vaccine supplies, targeted immunisation campaigns for vulnerable communities, real-time disease monitoring and expansion of paediatric healthcare facilities.
She also demanded an independent investigation into the alleged failures in vaccine procurement and immunisation programmes.