Why containing measles remains elusive

FE Team | Published: June 19, 2026 19:37:58

Infections from measles and suspected measles leading to severe cases, hospitalisation and even deaths have been showing no sign of abating despite the government's claim to the contrary that its special nationwide Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccination campaign plus the ongoing routine EPI has achieved more than a hundred per cent coverage. Some public health experts, however, are not convinced. Notably, EPI is short for 'Expanded Programme of Immunization'. Some immunization experts in the health sector have questioned if the vaccines have been able to develop the required immunity among the inoculated children and if the claimed coverage figures reflect the reality on the ground. To stress their point, they also suggested testing the vaccine's efficacy and conducting survey to assess the special vaccination drive's impact on the recipients of the jabs. However, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), as it informed this newspaper, had no intention to measure the vaccine's immunity response among the children who received shots during the past few months. Rather it has plans to run the special vaccination drive a month later before measuring the extent of coverage. In this connection, some experts hold the view that measles outbreaks are largely driven by accumulated immunity gaps -- millions of children missing their routine first (MR1) or second (MR2) doses over the past few years -- rather than vaccine failure itself.
So, it is not surprising that amid the recent mass campaigns, over 1,000 children are still hospitalized daily. Under the circumstances, the surge in transmission of measles or suspected measles is being attributed to several critical factors such as disruptions to routine immunisations, supply shortages and administrative changes over the last two years. All these factors have led to a higher number of children's susceptibility to the pathogen. On the issue of preventing outbreak of measles as is the case with Bangladesh over the recent months, public health specialists recommend that 95 per cent coverage of both doses of the MR vaccine at the district or upazila levels must be ensured every year. Meanwhile, the nationwide vaccination drive would play a major role in taming the measles outbreak, believe some health professionals. It is worth noting at this point that between March 15 and June 18, 2026, Bangladesh recorded 568 fatalities from suspected and 93 fatalities from confirmed cases totalling 661 deaths from measles. The confirmed cases of measles, on the other hand, have far exceeded the 10,000 mark. This is no doubt seriously concerning.
However, epidemiologists' view on containing measles transmission is that attaining herd immunity requires 95 per cent of the population to have two doses of the vaccine. However, the dropout rate between the first and second dose remains high, which is also to blame for the transmission not declining at the expected level. In this connection, immunologists pointed out that the recent emergency campaign suffered from poor micro-planning. The authorities focused heavily on central planning and stationary vaccine centres rather than door-to-door tracking. The severity and fatality rates are also being driven by poor nutritional status among many affected children, exacerbating measles complications, they argued.
Also, to confirm the efficacy of the vaccines, health experts have urged the government to evaluate post-vaccination antibody development. During the emergency nationwide drive, health authorities stated that they covered over 18 million children (102 per cent of their target). Despite these high administrative claims, epidemiologists and public health experts have flagged ongoing, abnormal infection and death rates. Centralised, desk-bound planning may have led to discrepancies in reporting, leaving remote or underserved communities with gaps in actual coverage. In that case door-to-door tracking is advised.