Five more children die from measles, symptoms in 24 hrs

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FE REPORT | Published: May 18, 2026 23:34:52

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Five more children have died from measles and measles-like symptoms in the country in the past 24 hours until Monday 8:0am, taking the total casualties to 464 since mid-March this year, said health authorities.
Of the total fatalities, 75 were confirmed cases, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) bulletin. Of the total confirmed and suspected deaths, 202 were reported in Dhaka.
Over 1,494 more suspected and confirmed infections were recorded in the past 24 hours. The total number of suspected infections rose 54,911 and confirmed infections to 7,856 since mid-March, said DGHS.
In response to a measles outbreak rapidly spreading across the country, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched an emergency measles-rubella vaccination campaign, targeting children aged 6 months to 5 years since April 5.
The government already met the target before the date and keeps continuing the inoculation campaign as more children are coming to be vaccinated alongside routine vaccination, said DGHS.
Bangladesh had made substantial progress towards measles elimination before this outbreak.
However, nationwide stock out of vaccine for 2024-2025 caused an increase in the number of susceptible children and contributed to the current outbreak, said WHO.
Measles is a highly contagious viral disease, which affects individuals of all ages and remains one of the leading causes of death among young children globally.
It is usually a mild or moderately severe disease. However, measles can lead to complications such as pneumonia, diarrhea, secondary ear infection, inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), blindness, and death.
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