Dhaka: As many as 11 children died from measles and similar symptoms in Bangladesh in the 24 hours till 8 am on Friday, raising the death toll since March 15 to 499, local media reported.
Among the latest fatalities, nine deaths were suspected as measles-related while two were confirmed as measles-related, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), United News of Bangladesh (UNB) reported.
Of the latest deaths in Bangladesh, the highest number of deaths linked to the outbreak reached 414 suspected and 85 confirmed cases.
As many as 1,261 suspected measles cases were reported in Bangladesh in the past 24 hours, raising the overall suspected cases to 60,540, according to the DGHS.
During the same period, 54 new confirmed measles cases were recorded in Bangladesh, taking the total number of cases to 8,329.
Since March 15, 47,511 suspected measles patients were admitted to hospital. Among those, 43,411 people have recovered, UNB reported.
As Bangladesh grapples with an escalating measles outbreak, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said that it had repeatedly warned the country’s earlier interim government led by Muhammad Yunus – both through written communication and meetings with health ministry officials – about vaccine shortages that could trigger a major health crisis.
Addressing a press briefing in Dhaka, Rana Flowers, UNICEF representative to Bangladesh, said that the UN agency sent five to six letters to the health authorities on the issue and raised the matter in 10 meetings during the tenure of the interim government, Bangladesh’s leading newspaper The Daily Star reported.
“From 2024, we were warning the government that the shortage of vaccines could lead to an outbreak. From 2024 to 2025 into 2026, we sent letters, and we had 10 different meetings signalling this was a problem and that orders for vaccines needed to be given. They could not,” The Daily Star quoted Flowers as saying.
According to Flowers, Ted Chaiban, Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, raised concerns over vaccine shortage at a meeting with the foreign ministry during his visit to Bangladesh in August last year.
She added that the UN agency would provide evidence to assist the investigation launched by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party( BNP) led government on the measles outbreak.
(IANS)
