As many as four children died from measles-like symptoms in Bangladesh in the past 24 hours up to 8am (local time) on Sunday, bringing the total number of confirmed and suspected measles deaths to 652, local media reported. The latest four deaths have been identified as suspected measles deaths, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). With the latest deaths, the number of suspected measles deaths rose to 560, while the number of laboratory-confirmed measles deaths remained unchanged at 92, the United News of Bangladesh reported.
As many as 1,052 new suspected cases of measles were reported in Bangladesh during the 24-hour period, taking the number of suspected measles cases in the country to 85,951.
As many as 75 new confirmed cases of measles were reported in Bangladesh, bringing the number of laboratory-confirmed infections to 10,323.
Since March 15, 70,579 suspected measles patients have been admitted to hospitals in Bangladesh. Among them, 66,841 patients have recovered, according to DGHS data, United News of Bangladesh (UNB) reported.
A severe measles outbreak in Bangladesh continues to spread despite government claims that vaccination coverage has exceeded 100 percent of targeted children, raising concerns among immunization experts about vaccine effectiveness and coverage gaps, Bangladesh daily Dhaka Tribune reported.
More than a month after the conclusion of the nationwide emergency measles vaccination campaign, hospitals across the country are admitting more than 1,000 children with measles-like or measles-like symptoms every day, while deaths continue to rise.
The continued rise in cases has alarmed public health experts, who say vaccination coverage does not necessarily translate into protection unless children develop sufficient immunity.
“Measles transmission should decline significantly once vaccine coverage exceeds 90 percent. If vaccination indeed reaches the reported level, infection rates should decline even more sharply now,” B Nazir Ahmed, former director of the government’s disease control branch, was quoted as saying by Dhaka Tribune.
According to Bendhir Ahmed, the official targets may not accurately reflect the true volume of eligible children.
“In some cases, coverage may appear to be 100% on paper, while in reality thousands of children remain unvaccinated,” he added.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
