Bangladesh has said a severe measles outbreak has claimed the lives of at least 98 children in the past three weeks, prompting the government to launch an emergency remedial campaign for the infectious disease.
Health ministry data released late last week showed that children aged between six months and five years old with suspected measles symptoms soared to 6,476.
“Compared with past years, the number of affected children is higher, and the death toll is higher too," Halimur Rashid, director at the Communicable Disease Control, told AFP, referring to the number in suspected cases. He attributed the potential outbreak to “multifactorial causes, including a shortage of vaccines".
The largest number of suspected cases on record was in 2005 at 25,934, according to World Health Organization (WHO) data, though that number had significantly declined until this year.
Bangladesh has made significant advancements in vaccinations to tackle infectious diseases, but a measles drive due in June 2024 was delayed by a deadly uprising that same year that toppled the autocratic government of Sheikh Hasina.
