Bangladesh has launched an emergency vaccination campaign targeting more than one million children after the South Asian country hit by the disease recorded the highest number of measles deaths in two decades.
At least 98 children died from suspected measles between March 15 and April 4 this year, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Officials said the number of confirmed measles deaths reached 17.
Measles, which is one of the most contagious diseases, requires at least 95 percent of the population to be vaccinated to prevent its spread.
Health experts blame the spike in cases on gaps in immunizations, including long pauses between special vaccination campaigns due to socio-political instability. Bangladesh last held a national measles vaccination campaign in 2020, but a planned follow-up in 2024 was canceled due to political unrest.
The government of Tarique Rahman has lowered the vaccination age from nine months to six months and plans to launch a national immunization campaign.
The campaign is led by the ministry with the support of the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the global vaccine alliance Gavi, starting on Sunday, April 5, 2026.
The government will start the campaign in high-risk areas in 18 districts and then expand it to the rest of the country on May 3, according to the report.
"In the capital city of Dhaka and Cox's Bazar, efforts will be increased to ensure high coverage in densely populated and high-risk areas," Unicef said, quoted from the Independent.co.uk page.
Children aged six months to five years are a priority, especially those who miss routine immunizations and are at high risk of serious complications.
A Rohingya refugee child reacts as health workers administer MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccines at the Hakimpara refugee camp in Ukhia district, Bangladesh, on November 18, 2017.
"UNICEF is deeply concerned about the sharp spike in measles cases across Bangladesh, which puts thousands of children, especially the youngest and most vulnerable, at serious risk," said Rana Flowers, the organization's representative in Bangladesh.
"This resurgence highlights a critical immunization gap," he continued.
Hospitals in several areas with high caseloads are full and operating at limited capacity, raising concerns about further spread.
Measles is a viral infection that spreads very easily among those who are not fully protected. Early symptoms often resemble the common flu, followed a few days later by a characteristic rash.
This rash usually starts on the face and behind the ears before spreading to the rest of the body, in the form of raised patches that are usually not itchy. The virus is spread through respiratory droplets when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes.
The disease has spread around the world as vaccination rates have fallen, although many parents are now rushing to vaccinate their children and in some places children's hospital wards are overwhelmed.
Bangladesh has been experiencing months of social-political turmoil after bloody anti-government protests in 2024, which forced then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to India, disrupting vaccination efforts in June of that year.
Bangladesh's health ministry on Sunday released data showing the number of children aged six months to five years with suspected measles symptoms jumped to 6,476.
"Compared to previous years, the number of children affected is higher, and the number of deaths is also higher," said Halimur Rashid, director of Communicable Disease Control, to AFP.
He attributed the potential outbreak to various factors, including a lack of vaccines.
"As far as I can tell, there has never been a year with this many measles deaths in the country," he said, as quoted by Prothom Alo.
Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain blamed the Awami League government led by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina for failing to provide measles-rubella vaccines every four years.
He said children should have received the vaccine in 2020, but the campaign was not carried out under the Awami League government, so many children were at high risk of infection.
The WHO estimates up to 95 thousand people die of measles globally each year, with most deaths occurring in children under five years of age who are not vaccinated or are under-vaccinated.
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