Bangladesh measles outbreak: over 32,000 suspected cases since mid-March, more than 250 deaths reported

The measles outbreak in Bangladesh has turned serious. More than 32,000 suspected cases have emerged there since mid-March. The report says more than 250 people have died in this period. Experts say delays in procuring vaccines and a fall in immunisation coverage made matters worse.

According to experts, the one relief is that the infection is for now confined to a few districts of Bangladesh and has not reached areas along the border. They therefore say there is no visible impact on India.

The infection is said to have begun in January in camps of Rohingya refugees near the Myanmar border. Measles then spread to 58 of the country's 64 districts. More than 21,000 patients had to be hospitalised.

In September 2025, the interim government stopped buying vaccines through UNICEF and opted for an open tender process. The process was delayed, which hit vaccine supply and set back the routine immunisation programme. Until then, the Bangladesh government had relied heavily on UNICEF for measles and rubella vaccines. Concerns that halting procurement would disrupt routine immunisation and raise the risk of measles spreading had been voiced earlier.

According to government data, only 59 per cent of children eligible for the measles vaccine were vaccinated in 2025. This figure was later removed from the official website, it is said. Administrative delays in the tender process caused a vaccine shortage and affected routine immunisation.

ASM Alamgir, former principal scientist at the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), said that since 2024 the failure of the vitamin A distribution campaign had further lowered children's immunity.

According to Be-Nazir Ahmed, former director of the disease control division of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Bangladesh resumed buying vaccines through UNICEF in April. An emergency vaccination campaign was also run. However, given the speed at which measles is spreading, it may take time to bring the situation under control.

Meanwhile, Supreme Court lawyer Biplab Kumar Das has filed a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Commission over alleged irregularities and failures in vaccine procurement, according to reports.

According to the Bangladesh Coverage Evaluation Survey 2026, coverage of the first dose of the measles and rubella vaccine fell from 88.6 per cent in 2019 to 86 per cent in 2023. Second-dose coverage also dropped over the same period, from 89 per cent to 80.7 per cent. Experts say roughly 95 per cent vaccination coverage is generally needed to stop measles from spreading.