BANGLADESH said on Sunday that at least 94 children have died in the past 19 days due to a measles outbreak, as the government launched an emergency response to contain the disease.
The outbreak has spread to 56 of the country’s 64 administrative districts.
Bangladesh prime minister Tarique Rahman’s government blamed the interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus for not providing vaccines on time.
The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said 10 of the 94 deaths were reported in the 24 hours ending at 8 am on Sunday. It added that 5,792 suspected measles cases were recorded during the 19-day period, including 974 cases since Saturday.
“The highly infectious disease has seen a sharp rise this year, particularly since March,” a DGHS statement said, attributing the rise to a vaccination gap last year.
Officials said the disease is spreading across the country and has affected 56 districts so far. The DGHS report said the outbreak is most severe in the northwestern Rajshahi region, where surveillance and case tracking have been increased.
Health minister Sardar Shakhawat Hossain Bakul said the emergency vaccination drive would begin in the “worst affected areas” before expanding across Bangladesh.
In a related development, Rahman’s government accused Yunus’ interim administration of negligence. “You can call it failure or negligence of the past interim government in carrying out the campaign to prevent measles or rubella,” Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Health Affairs secretary Mohammad Rafiqul Islam also said the outbreak occurred “due to the interim government's failure to provide vaccines on time.”
Islam said the first measles case was detected in Rohingya camps on January 4, when the interim government was still in power. He said it was aware of the situation but did not take effective measures in time, leading to the current rise in infections.
According to World Health Organisation (WHO) data, Bangladesh’s measles vaccination coverage was over 96 per cent from 2016 to 2024, the year when a student-led protest removed then prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government.
Health officials said vaccination rates declined in 2024 and 2025 during the interim government period, after years when most children received vaccines on time.
“We were committed to reduce the (measles death) number to zero by December 2025 but failed to achieve the target due to poor vaccination programmes,” chief of National Verification Committee of Measles and Rubella Mahbubur Rahman said.
As the outbreak continues, independent health experts said the actual number of deaths could be higher, as testing is not always conducted, or patients die before being tested.
(With inputs from agencies)
