At least four people died and 685 others were hospitalised across Bangladesh with measles symptoms in the 24 hours until 8:00am on Thursday, raising the suspected measles death toll to 27 and hospitalisations to 3,709 since March 15, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.
The DGHS said that 26 new laboratory-confirmed measles cases were detected in the past 24 hours, taking the number of confirmed infections to 585 since March 15.
No measles death was confirmed during the 24 hours as the laboratory test took some seven days to produce report.
Officials, however, said that the overall number of deaths and hospitalisations was likely to be much higher as data from the earlier part of the year had not yet been fully compiled and many samples were under diagnosis process.
DGHS additional director (administration) Professor Dr Md Zahid Raihan said that efforts were under way to collect detailed nationwide data.
‘We are trying to gather complete information, but it has not yet been possible,’ he said.
The DGHS did not give any details like area and age of the cases and fatality.
New Age correspondents in Tangail and Rajshahi reported two children’s deaths with measles symptoms.
However, officials said, a total of 751 confirmed measles cases have so far been reported in eight city corporation areas and 56 districts since January.
They observed that the number of measles symptoms and confirmed cases were increasing rapidly across the country as the highly contagious viral disease was spreading fast.
Of the confirmed cases, 162 were reported from city corporation areas and 589 from districts, while suspected infections were reported from all the 64 districts.
The affected city corporations include Dhaka North, Dhaka South, Mymensingh, Chattogram, Barishal, Narayanganj, Gazipur, and Rajshahi.
As of March 31, a total of 751 measles cases were confirmed, with several thousand suspected patients receiving treatment in hospitals across the country.
Measles suspect samples from 786 healthcare facilities from across the country have been sent to the Institute of Public Health in Dhaka so far for test in the national laboratory for measles and polio.
IPH laboratory virologist Mahbuba Jamil said that over the years the test positivity rate had been less than 4 per cent but now it increased to 54 per cent in March.
Bangladesh is witnessing a sudden measles outbreak this year, which public health experts have linked to gaps in routine immunisation and declining vaccine coverage in recent years.
Under the Expanded Programme on Immunization, Bangladesh provides free vaccines to children against 11 life-threatening diseases, including measles and rubella.
Health officials said that the government would start emergency vaccination in outbreak hotspots and conduct a nationwide campaign in June targeting around 20 million children.
Health minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hussain on Thursday inaugurated a new outpatient treatment unit at the Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute with support from Beximco Pharmaceuticals PLC.
He also launched the first phase of nationwide hands-on training on bubble CPAP use for treating measles-induced pneumonia at the specialised hospital with support from the icddr,b.
The minister said that the country was initially unprepared to manage the sudden surge of measles patients but had, meanwhile taken rapid measures to strengthen treatment facilities.
‘We were not ready for the management of measles patients, but within a short time we have taken necessary preparations,’ he said.
Public health experts urged the government to strengthen hospital management and immediately launch emergency vaccination to control the spread of the highly contagious disease.
