Measles outbreak kills more than 50 people weekly

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Bangladesh is facing a persistent and alarming surge in measles cases, with health data indicating that both infection rates and fatalities remain at dangerously high levels. According to records from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), 575 children have died from the disease or its complications between March 15 and late May, averaging more than 57 deaths per week.

A World Health Organization (WHO) report released on May 26 suggests that while confirmed cases have shown marginal fluctuations, hospital admissions for measles-like symptoms remain critically high. In the week ending May 24 alone, health authorities recorded 59 child deaths. By May 25, the daily hospital admission count stood at 732 patients, although experts caution that these figures may be under-reported due to the ongoing Eid holiday, which typically sees reduced healthcare utilization.

Public health experts emphasize that mortality trends are a more reliable indicator of an outbreak’s trajectory than infection counts, which are often suppressed by limited testing and surveillance gaps. Nazmul Haider, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Keele University, noted that the current data provides no evidence that the crisis is stabilizing. Analysts have attributed the resurgence to systemic failures, including delays in routine immunization, malnutrition among children, and the suspension of national vitamin A supplementation campaigns.

The scale of the outbreak has been rapid. Data from the WHO shows that weekly infections spiked from 1,836 cases in early April to nearly 8,000 within a single week. By mid-May, the country was consistently recording over 9,000 cases per week. This surge has been accompanied by a corresponding climb in mortality, which rose from nine deaths in the 14th week of the year to over 500 by the 21st week.

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While the government initiated a targeted vaccination campaign in 30 high-risk sub-districts on April 5 and expanded it nationwide by April 20, the WHO confirmed by late May that the virus has spread to every district in the country. Public health expert Mushtaq Hossain criticized the vaccination strategy, noting that the traditional door-to-door approach was neglected in favor of centralized sites. He further warned that a lack of comprehensive disease management has kept hospital admissions at a peak level.

The risk of further transmission is compounded by the mass migration of people leaving the capital for the Eid holidays. Experts fear this movement could introduce the virus to new areas or expose healthy children to high-infection zones. Former IEDCR director Mahmudur Rahman expressed concern over a lack of public awareness campaigns, stating that the tendency to ignore the severity of the outbreak could lead to an even more fragile public health situation.