Measles symptoms claim four more lives in Bangladesh as total death toll reaches 967
Photo Collected
Four people have died with symptoms of measles in Bangladesh over the past 24 hours, health officials reported on Sunday. The latest fatalities bring the total death toll attributed to measles and associated symptoms to 967 since the outbreak began on March 15.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the four deaths occurred between 8:00 a.m. Saturday and 8:00 a.m. Sunday. Official data confirms that 99 of the 967 total deaths were verified as measles cases, while the remainder exhibited symptoms associated with the disease. Of the four most recent victims, two were from the Barisal division, while one death occurred in Dhaka and one in the Sylhet division.
The health authorities reported 1,151 new cases displaying measles symptoms in the last 24 hours, raising the total number of symptomatic cases to 156,829 since March 15. During the same period, 365 new confirmed cases were identified, bringing the total number of laboratory-confirmed infections to 19,218.
Public health experts noted that while measles can affect individuals of any age, children remain the most vulnerable demographic. Hospital records indicate that 137,347 patients have been admitted for measles symptoms since mid-March, with 132,292 patients having since recovered and been discharged.
Data released in July by the World Health Organization regarding global measles and rubella trends highlights a significant immunization gap in Bangladesh. Among children under one year of age infected during the past year, more than 4,000 had not received either of the two required doses of the measles vaccine. Similarly, among patients aged one to four, 1,500 had received no vaccination, while approximately 500 had received only a single dose. Among infected children aged five to nine, half had not received any dose of the vaccine.
0%
0%
0%
0%
