Two more die in measles, related cases

Two more children died of measles and measles-like symptoms in the past 24 hours until Saturday 8:00am Saturday taking the total casualties to 453 since mid March this year, said health authorities.
Of the total fatalities, 74 were confirmed as measles cases, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) bulletin.
Of the total deaths in confirmed and suspected cases of measles, 197 were reported in Dhaka.
Over 1,069 more suspected and confirmed measles infections were recorded in the past 24 hours. The total suspected infections rose to 56,572 and confirmed cases to 7,524 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 old 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 against, said DGHS.
Bangladesh had made substantial progress towards measles elimination before this outbreak.
However, nationwide shortage 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.
Measles 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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