Measles cases continue to surge across Bangladesh, with a 50 per cent test positivity rate recorded among samples collected at Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute, raising fresh concerns among health experts over the scale of the outbreak.
Officials at the specialised child hospital, commonly known as Dhaka Shishu Hospital, said that 222 samples had been sent to the National Polio and Measles Laboratory at the Institute of Public Health since January.
Of the 83 reports received so far from the WHO-accredited reference laboratory, 41 tested positive and 42 tested negative, indicating a high transmission rate of the virus.
Earlier, laboratory officials had reported up to a 34 per cent positivity rate among tested samples.
The Shishu Hospital director, Mahbubul Hoque, said that seven children had died of measles at the facility since January, while 272 patients had received treatment during the period.
The number of cases has risen sharply in recent weeks. In the first 14 days of April, 134 children were admitted to the hospital with measles symptoms, compared with 130 in March, six in February, and only two in January.
Nationwide data from the Directorate General of Health Services also show a steep rise in infections and deaths.
In the 24 hours until 8:00am on Wednesday, at least 1,032 suspected measles cases and two deaths were reported.
During the same period, 76 cases were laboratory-confirmed, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 2,973 and deaths to 32 since March 15.
Overall, the country has recorded 19,161 suspected cases and 166 deaths so far, while confirmed cases stand at 2,973 with 32 deaths.
Just two weeks earlier, on March 31, suspected cases stood at 2,314 with 52 deaths, highlighting the rapid escalation of the outbreak.
Health experts said that delays in laboratory confirmation, due to increased sample load, were making real-time surveillance difficult and potentially masking the true scale of the outbreak.
Virologists warned that the situation could worsen before improving.
Bangladesh Medical University virology professor Saif Ullah Munshi said that the impact of the ongoing vaccination campaign would take time to reflect in infection trends.
‘It takes around 20 days after vaccination for the body to develop immunity. If the campaign is implemented effectively, we may see a gradual decline in infections from mid-May,’ he said.
The government launched an emergency measles-rubella vaccination campaign on April 5, targeting children aged six to 59 months in high-risk areas, with plans to expand it nationwide.
On April 12, vaccination began in four cities, and the rest of the country will be brought under the campaign by May 20, according to the government plan.
Public health experts attributed the outbreak largely to gaps in routine immunisation over the past few years.
According to the World Health Organization and UNICEF, measles outbreaks often occur when vaccination coverage falls below the threshold required for herd immunity, typically around 95 per cent.
Bangladesh, once recognised for its strong immunisation programme under the Expanded Programme on Immunisation, has seen disruptions in recent years due to operational challenges, funding constraints, and the Covid-19 pandemic, experts said.
They also noted that a significant number of infected children were below nine months of age, the minimum age for routine measles vaccination, making them particularly vulnerable.
Health professionals urged parents to take preventive measures, including avoiding crowded places, maintaining hygiene, and ensuring timely vaccination of eligible children.
They also stressed the need for proper isolation of infected patients to prevent further transmission, as measles is one of the most contagious viral diseases, spreading through respiratory droplets.
Experts warned that without sustained immunisation efforts and stronger surveillance, the outbreak could persist for months, putting thousands more children at risk across the country.
