Daijiworld Media Network - Dhaka
Dhaka, Sep 28: Nine more children died with measles-like symptoms in Bangladesh in the 24 hours till 8 a.m. on Sunday, taking the combined number of confirmed and suspected measles-related deaths in the country to 1,096 this year, local media reported.
The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) classified all nine latest fatalities as suspected measles deaths. The number of suspected measles deaths has now risen to 995, while laboratory-confirmed deaths remain at 101.
During the same 24-hour period, Bangladesh recorded 1,228 new suspected measles cases, taking the cumulative number of suspected cases nationwide to 188,041.
Another 113 laboratory-confirmed infections were reported, pushing the total number of confirmed measles cases to 21,212.
Since March 15, a total of 166,310 patients with suspected measles have been admitted to hospitals across Bangladesh. Of them, 159,519 have recovered, according to DGHS data.
The sharp rise in cases has raised concerns over one of Bangladesh's most serious public health crises in recent years, with health experts and advocacy groups pointing to gaps in vaccination coverage and immunisation programmes.
A recent report titled 'Preventable Tragedy: Bangladesh's 2026 Measles Outbreak' by the Canada-based Global Centre for Democratic Governance (GCDG) said the outbreak, although appearing sudden to the public, was not unexpected from an epidemiological perspective.
The report attributed the crisis to a combination of disruptions to vaccine supplies and health programmes during 2024-25, missed routine vaccinations, cancellation of scheduled supplementary immunisation programmes, delays in vaccine procurement and inadequate identification of populations at higher risk.
According to the report, Bangladesh had traditionally procured World Health Organisation-approved vaccines through the international supply chain operated by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The system was subsequently replaced by an open tender procurement process under the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus.
Citing UNICEF, the report claimed that the agency repeatedly warned the interim government about the possibility of vaccine shortages through five to six formal letters and around 10 meetings held between 2024 and 2026.
The latest DGHS figures underline the continuing scale of the outbreak, with more than 1.88 lakh suspected cases and over 21,000 laboratory-confirmed infections recorded so far this year.