At least eight more children died of measles and measles-like symptoms in the past 24 hours, including one from confirmed measles, taking the total death toll to 259, health authorities said on Sunday.
Of the total fatalities, 43 were confirmed measles cases recorded since March 15 this year, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The highest number of deaths was reported in Dhaka Division with 102 fatalities, followed by Rajshahi Division with 68.
In the last 24 hours, 143 new confirmed measles cases were recorded, alongside 1,421 new infections with measles-like symptoms.
Of them, 959 patients were admitted to hospitals across the country.
During the same period, the highest number of hospital admissions was reported in Dhaka with 404 patients, while Rangpur recorded the lowest with eight admissions.
Since mid-March, the country has recorded a total of 32,208 suspected measles cases, including 4,603 confirmed infections.
Meanwhile, the health ministry said 8.5 million children have been vaccinated since April 5 through two separate immunisation campaigns.
Measles is a highly contagious acute viral disease that affects people of all ages and remains one of the leading causes of death among young children globally.
Although the disease is usually mild to moderately severe, it can lead to serious complications such as pneumonia, diarrhoea, secondary ear infections, inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), blindness and death.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Bangladesh had made significant progress toward measles elimination before the current outbreak.
However, a nationwide vaccine stockout during 2024-2025 increased the number of susceptible children and contributed to the resurgence of infections.
WHO also noted that measles remains endemic across the South-East Asia region.
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