Children with measles-like symptoms in several remote hill settlements of Kurukpata union under Bandarban’s Alikadam upazila are being treated with local remedies and herbal medicine as Mro families struggle to access healthcare.

At least five children have died with measles-like symptoms, while scores of others have been infected across 10 to 15 remote hill villages in the area over the past few days.

Local residents said proper treatment remains largely inaccessible to them. As a result, many families have turned to herbal remedies, including extracts from wild vines, and other traditional practices to treat their ailing children.

In Sinduk Mukh Para along the Matamuhuri river, around 50 kilometres from Alikadam upazila headquarters and near the Myanmar border, 13-year-old Kramum Mro was seen lying weak in her mother’s arms.

Her body was covered with red rashes, and she had been suffering from high fever and extreme fatigue.

Kramum’s mother, Nganrao Mro, 55, was trying to feed her a bitter concoction of herbal extracts, which made the child vomit.

“My daughter has been sick for seven days with high fever and rashes all over her body. She cannot eat anything,” Nganrao said.

Asked why she had not taken her daughter to a hospital, she sighed.

“In this rain, how can I take her walking down the hilly path, followed by a boat trip to Powa Muhuri Dari Para, and then by motorcycle to the upazila health complex miles away in Alikadam? It will also cost several thousand taka for the round trip. Where will we get that money?”

Asked about the herbal remedy, Nganrao said they grind different wild vines and other items, mix the extract with water, and feed it to the child.

“It tastes very bitter, so she does not want to take it,” she said.

She added that almost all sick children in the village are being treated the same way.

“So I am also giving it to my daughter, hoping she will recover,” she said.

A similar situation was observed in several other remote settlements across Kurukpata union, including Maran Para, Langthoin Para, Ruitong Para, Langring, Yangring, Mendon, and Bidyamoni Para.

Local elders, including Chingtui Mro, Mongkhaid Mro, and Krongtoi Mro, said the method has been practised for generations whenever symptoms resembling measles or smallpox appear.

“We learned this from our ancestors,” Chingtui said.

Local residents said health workers rarely visit these remote areas to provide routine vaccination or medical services, while poor communication and high costs make it difficult for them to seek treatment at hospitals.

Many families also have limited knowledge about the risks of infectious diseases such as measles and the importance of modern treatment, while deep-rooted trust in traditional healing practices continues to shape healthcare decisions.

Medical experts warned that measles is a highly contagious viral disease that can lead to severe complications, including pneumonia and diarrhoea, and may even cause death if untreated.

They also cautioned that consuming unprocessed or unknown substances, such as extracts from forest vines, may pose additional health risks to children who are already ill.

Meanwhile, 12 new patients with measles-like symptoms were admitted to Alikadam Upazila Health Complex yesterday, raising the total number of such patients currently being treated at the hospital to 52, said Dr Md Hanif, upazila health and family planning officer in Alikadam.

So far, there have been 133 suspected measles cases in the upazila. Of them, 107 patients were admitted to the hospital.

Among the admitted patients, 52 have been discharged after recovery, four were referred to Cox’s Bazar Medical College Hospital in critical condition, and 26 received treatment at outpatient and emergency departments, he said.

Under the directive of the Bandarban civil surgeon, an eight-member medical team, comprising three doctors, three nurses, one assistant civil surgeon, and one LMSS, has been working at a temporary camp set up at Moitree Government Primary School in Kurukpata union.

However, as most measles patients are coming from the remote border area of Poyamuhuri hills, another temporary medical camp has been relocated to Bidyamoni Government Primary School in the Poyamuhuri area, with the initiative of the Mro Youth Organisation, he said.

Due to the lack of electricity at this remote temporary camp, only basic primary care is being provided, and all patients are being referred directly to the upazila health complex.

If there were solar power facilities, comparatively mild cases could have been treated at the temporary camp itself, Dr Hanif added.