Bangladesh reported seven more measles-related deaths in the 24 hours to Thursday according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). All seven were classified as suspected measles deaths taking the total suspected death toll to 909 while confirmed deaths remained at 100 bringing the combined tally to 1,009 this year.
The DGHS has published daily measles data since March 15. Thursday's bulletin recorded three deaths in Dhaka Division and one each in Sylhet, Rajshahi, Chattogram and Khulna.
Dhaka Division has recorded the highest number of measles-related deaths so far at 407 followed by Sylhet (157), Mymensingh (77), Rajshahi (93), Chattogram (66), Barishal (57), Khulna (38) and Rangpur (14).
Another 1,165 people with measles symptoms sought hospital treatment in the latest 24-hour period with 1,112 admitted with taking total admissions to 148,505. Of these 142,888 patients have been discharged. Suspected cases nationwide now stand at 168,745 with 19,933 laboratory-confirmed infections after 29 new cases were recorded.
Since not all patients undergo testing as the health officials say the true scale of the outbreak remains difficult to determine.
Experts attribute the crisis to inadequate vaccination coverage and the absence of clear measles management guidelines. They recommend antibody testing to assess whether vaccinated children have developed sufficient immunity, warning that earlier with more decisive action could have prevented the outbreak from escalating to its current level.
