More than 1,000 children have died in Bangladesh’s measles outbreak, a grim milestone that comes months after authorities launched an emergency vaccination campaign intended to stop the spread of the disease.
The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said Wednesday that 1,002 children have died since the outbreak began in March. Officials have recorded 187,484 infections during the same period.
The outbreak is now considered the largest active measles outbreak in the world, according to international health agencies.
The latest figures underscore how difficult it has been to contain the virus, even after Bangladesh vaccinated about 18 million children during a nationwide immunization drive launched in April with support from the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and Gavi.
Health authorities now acknowledge that the campaign failed to reach millions of children.
Millions Were Vaccinated, but Millions Were Missed
The emergency campaign was originally expected to bring the outbreak under control.
Bangladesh’s health ministry targeted children between six months and five years of age before expanding the effort nationwide. By official estimates, 18 million children received vaccine doses.
But health experts now say the actual number of children who needed protection was much higher.
According to government figures, roughly four million children were not reached during the campaign.
“We couldn’t achieve herd immunity,” DGHS spokesman Zahid Raihan told AFP.
Health workers continue to search for children who missed vaccinations as infections are still being reported across the country.
How Bangladesh Reached This Point
For years, Bangladesh was regarded as a success story in childhood immunization.
Measles cases remained relatively low, and routine vaccination programs helped keep outbreaks under control.
That changed after a series of disruptions hit the country’s immunization system.
Health experts say many children missed routine vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic. A nationwide measles campaign scheduled during the political upheaval of 2024 was also disrupted.
The WHO and UNICEF have both pointed to vaccination gaps that emerged in 2024 and 2025 as a major reason for the current outbreak.
Bangladesh’s health minister told parliament this week that changes to vaccine procurement policies during that period contributed to shortages.
Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former interim leader Muhammad Yunus have both been drawn into a political dispute over responsibility for the breakdown in vaccine coverage.
Hospitals Continue to Fill With Young Patients
At Dhaka Shishu Hospital, one of the country’s largest children’s hospitals, doctors are still treating measles patients months after the outbreak began.
Many arrive with complications including pneumonia, severe diarrhea and encephalitis, a potentially life-threatening swelling of the brain.
“For the past six months, we have been treating measles patients continuously, and we are exhausted,” pediatric specialist Atiqul Islam told the Associated Press.
Children have accounted for the overwhelming majority of cases.
Earlier outbreak assessments found that more than 80 percent of infections were recorded among children younger than five. Infants too young to receive routine measles vaccination have also been affected.
Why the Outbreak Has Not Ended
Public health officials say vaccination coverage remains below the level needed to stop transmission.
WHO estimates show that 86 percent of Bangladeshi children received their recommended second measles vaccine dose last year, down from 93 percent the year before.
Health experts say measles spreads quickly when vaccination rates fall, even by a few percentage points.
NPR reported that health officials now estimate about 22.6 million children needed protection during the outbreak, well above the number reached during the emergency campaign.
“Many children have still not received the measles vaccine, so we cannot go into a relaxed mode,” vaccine specialist Tajul Abdul Bari told NPR.
More Vaccines Planned
Bangladesh announced last month that another 1.6 million children would be vaccinated in areas where coverage remains low.
Officials are also seeking to procure an additional 2.5 million doses to strengthen future vaccination efforts.
Despite those plans, health authorities have cautioned that the outbreak is unlikely to end immediately.
“There is no scope for unrealistic assurances,” State Minister for Health Dr. M.A. Muhit said in August. “Even if the pace of vaccination were doubled, it would still take another two to three months to bring the measles outbreak fully under control.”
For families who have lost children, that timeline offers little comfort.
“When fate turns against you, this is what happens,” Toriqul Islam, whose 10-month-old son died from measles complications earlier this year, told NPR.
Stay Updated with Grow Health.
Source:
https://measles.dghs.gov.bd/bulletin
https://www.who.int/bangladesh
https://www.unicef.org/bangladesh
https://www.cdc.gov/global-measles-vaccination/data-research/global-measles-outbreaks/
