At least one child died of measles and 513 others were admitted to hospitals with symptoms across Bangladesh in the 24 hours until 8:00am on Wednesday, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.
DGHS additional director general (administration) Professor Md Zahid Raihan said that 21 measles cases were confirmed through laboratory tests from samples collected over the past few days.
With the latest death reported in Rajshahi, at least 11 children died of measles in the past 15 days, while 423 cases were laboratory-confirmed and a total of 2,314 patients with measles symptoms were admitted to hospitals nationwide, DGHS data showed.
However, hospitals and DGHS officials said that more than 52 deaths with measles-like symptoms had been reported this year, although many of them were yet to be laboratory confirmed.
Amid the growing outbreak, health minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain on Wednesday announced that the government would launch an emergency measles vaccination campaign for children aged between six months and 10 years from Sunday.
Speaking at a press conference at the secretariat, the minister said that the affected areas would be brought under vaccination coverage within two days.
‘Within the next two days, we will send vaccines and syringes to rural areas,’ he said.
Earlier, the minister announced a nationwide vaccination campaign to begin in June.
Officials said that the government had already allocated Tk 604 crore for purchasing vaccines and strengthening immunisation activities.
Public health experts said that the outbreak was linked to gaps in routine immunisation and shortages of vaccines in recent months.
They said that after the government dropped Operational Plans in 2024, it failed to put in place an effective alternative system, which disrupted vaccine supply not only for measles but also for other preventable diseases, including rubella, polio, tuberculosis, diphtheria and pneumonia.
Former principal scientific officer of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research Dr Mohammad Mushtuq Husain said that the sudden discontinuation of the operational plan system without an alternative mechanism had created a serious gap in vaccination coverage.
He warned that unless immediate corrective measures were taken, other vaccine-preventable diseases could resurge alongside measles.
Bangladesh provides free vaccines to children under the Expanded Programme on Immunisation, protecting them from 11 life-threatening diseases, including tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B, pneumonia, polio and measles-rubella.
According to DGHS and EPI data, children receive 14 vaccine doses in five sessions at immunisation centres across the country under the national schedule.
EPI deputy director Md Shahriar Sajjad acknowledged that immunisation coverage declined during the tenure of the interim government in 2024 and 2025 compared with previous years.
Health experts said that restoring routine immunisation coverage and ensuring vaccine supply would be crucial to containing the current measles outbreak and preventing further deaths among children.
