Dhaka: At least four children died from the measles outbreak in Bangladesh on Friday, raising the total number of confirmed and suspected deaths to 1,114 this year, amid an escalating health crisis in the country, local media reported.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the deaths were reported in the 24 hours leading up to Friday morning.
Among the four fatalities from the disease, one was confirmed as measles death and another three were identified as suspected, Bangladeshi media outlet UNB reported.
Reports suggest that while the number of confirmed deaths remained at 102, the total number of suspected deaths climbed to 1,012.
The DGHS recorded a total of 1,221 new suspected measles cases during the 24-hour period, bringing the overall tally of suspected cases to 194,084.
Additionally, 21 new confirmed cases were reported, increasing the total to 21,623 during the same period.
Last week, public health experts linked the resurgence to gaps in previous vaccination coverage and shortcomings in hospital and patient management, including delays in detecting infected children and isolating them at home.
Speaking to Bangladesh’s leading newspaper ‘The Daily Star’, public health expert Mushtuq Husain said children generally need three to four weeks after vaccination to develop sufficient immunity. “Therefore, the current wave of infections, hospitalisations and deaths may continue for at least another month,” he added.
Recently, a leading international advocacy group described the 2026 measles outbreak as one of Bangladesh’s worst public health crisis in recent history, highlighting the concern that the disease is preventable through vaccination.
In its report titled ‘Preventable Tragedy: Bangladesh’s 2026 Measles Outbreak’, Canada-based Global Centre for Democratic Governance (GCDG) said that although the measles outbreak appeared sudden to the public, it was not an unexpected event from an “epidemiological perspective”.
The report noted that the crisis resulted from a combination of disruptions to vaccine supply and health programs in 2024-2025 during the former interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, along with missed routine vaccinations, cancellations of scheduled supplementary immunisation programmes, administrative delays in vaccine procurement, and a failure to promptly identify at-risk populations.
(IANS)
