At least 10 more children died with suspected measles symptoms and 1,248 others were infected across Bangladesh in the 24 hours until 8:00am on Wednesday.
With the latest figures, the number of suspected measles deaths has risen to 138, while 11,133 children have shown measles symptoms since March 15, according to data from the Directorate General of Health Services.
The DGHS has so far confirmed 21 measles deaths, while 1,599 infections have been laboratory-confirmed, including 189 during the latest reporting period.
Of the latest suspected deaths, six children died in Dhaka, three in Rajshahi and one in Khulna, health officials said, adding that laboratory confirmation of measles cases usually takes a few days.
Meanwhile, 693 patients were admitted to different hospitals with measles symptoms in the past 24 hours. So far, a total of 7,577 suspected patients have been hospitalised since March 15.
Health minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain told the parliament on Wednesday that 41 deaths have been officially verified by the World Health Organization and UNICEF as directly caused by measles during the outbreak.
The government has reallocated Tk 604 crore from unused funds and secured around 2.19 crore vaccine doses with international support as part of urgent measures to combat the outbreak, he said.
‘Tk 604 crore from unused Asian Development Bank pandemic funds has been reallocated for emergency procurement, and 21.9 million doses have been secured through Gavi support, while an additional procurement worth Tk 419 crore is in its final stages,’ the minister added.
Amid the worsening outbreak, the government on April 5 launched an emergency measles-rubella immunisation campaign targeting about 12 lakh children aged between six months and five years in 30 high-risk upazilas, with support from UNICEF, the WHO and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
The campaign will expand to four city corporations on April 12 and go nationwide on May 3.
The drive is prioritising children who missed routine immunisation and are at higher risk of severe illness and complications, with intensified efforts in densely populated areas.
