Coxs Bazar Measles Outbreak: MSF Patient Load Quadruples
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Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported a nearly four-fold surge in measles cases in Cox’s Bazar during April, prompting an intensified medical response for patients, predominantly children, across Rohingya refugee camps and surrounding local communities. The medical humanitarian organization treated 284 measles patients last month, a significant increase compared to the preceding three months.
The dense Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, home to approximately 1.2 million people, are particularly vulnerable to infectious diseases. MSF’s statement highlighted that crowded conditions and precarious living circumstances amplify the risk of measles transmission. Across these camps, 330 suspected measles cases have been identified, with 40 confirmed through laboratory testing. Three deaths have been recorded among these patients. An additional 160 cases have been detected in neighboring local communities.
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Mieke Steenssens, MSF’s Country Medical Coordinator, noted that while regular measles infections were reported early this year, a substantial increase was observed from March, which accelerated further in April. She stated that MSF teams are actively treating affected patients both inside and outside the camps, with most patients being children under five years old, many exhibiting severe symptoms of pneumonia.
Of the 284 patients treated in April, 82 required hospitalization due to their critical condition. In response to the growing caseload, MSF opened a new isolation unit on April 19 in the Jamtoli refugee camp, which functions as a referral center for all camps. The agency is also preparing to double the unit’s bed capacity to accommodate the increasing patient influx.
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Steenssens further revealed that three-quarters of the lab-confirmed measles patients in the refugee camps had not been vaccinated. She expressed alarm over the high rate of unvaccinated children not only in the Rohingya camps but also within the local population, stressing the urgent need to bolster vaccination efforts.
MSF is assisting health authorities with a vaccination campaign launched on April 26 across the Rohingya camps. To effectively control the outbreak, at least 95% of children must be vaccinated against measles. Steenssens underscored the critical importance of swift action, explaining that measles is one of the world’s most contagious viral diseases, spreading through respiratory droplets. It primarily affects children and can lead to severe complications such as pneumonia, malnutrition, and death, especially in crowded environments with limited access to healthcare.
MSF operates several healthcare facilities in and around the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, where measles patients are receiving treatment. These include the Jamtoli and Hakimpara Primary Healthcare Centers, the ‘Hospital on the Hill,’ Kutupalong Hospital, and Goyalmara Mother and Child Hospital.
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