A nine-month-old infant from Tarakanda upazila died of measles-like symptoms at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital (MMCH) on Thursday morning, bringing the total death toll from the ongoing outbreak to 33.
The hospital is currently buckling under a severe patient load. According to Dr. Jhontu Sarkar, MMCH’s senior store officer, 104 children are currently crammed into a 64-bed measles isolation ward, creating an acute crisis in care and sanitation.
Since the surge began on March 17, the hospital has recorded the following statistics Total Admissions 1,340 children, Total Recoveries 1,203 children, Total Fatalities 33 children.
Recent 24-Hour Period 23 new admissions, 20 discharges, and 1 death.
Families Express Despair Over Conditions
Parents are increasingly frustrated by the severely overcrowded ward, alleging a lack of proper medical attention, severe medicine shortages and unhygienic bathrooms.
Razia Begum, a mother who admitted her three children (aged 13 years, 2 years, and 4 months) on Sunday, described the situation as dire. "There is basically no medical care here. Doctors say we should just take them home and they will get better in a few months," she said. "Then what was the need to come to the hospital? Children are dying in this ward every day, partly because there are no ICU facilities."
She further alleged that doctors are rarely available to check on newly admitted children and that relatives struggle to communicate with the medical staff.
Hospital Cites Resource Limits and Lack of ICU Hospital authorities acknowledge the grim reality but point to severe resource limitations.
Dr. Md Mawla Sujan, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at MMCH, responded to the grievances: "There will naturally be complaints from relatives, but we are trying our absolute best. Everything, including the provision of medicines, is being managed within our limited allocation."
Dr. Sujan emphasized that the absence of a pediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is the critical bottleneck in preventing fatalities. "At this time, an ICU is desperately needed. If we had one, we could have made a much stronger effort to save the lives of these critically ill children," he added.
