Measles kills 1,147 in Bangladesh in eight months, about 94% of them children under five

The measles outbreak in Bangladesh has turned serious. The disease has killed 1,147 people in the past eight months. Children under five account for about 94 per cent of the deaths. A decline in routine immunisation, weak health services and gaps in the registration of children have made matters worse.

Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) show the severity of the outbreak. Since mid-March, more than 202,000 suspected measles cases have been found in the country. About 22,000 of them have been confirmed by laboratory tests.

Health experts say at least 95 per cent vaccination coverage is needed to stop measles from spreading. But according to WHO and UNICEF estimates, coverage of the first dose of the measles vaccine in Bangladesh fell to 90 per cent in 2025. Second-dose coverage dropped to 86 per cent. This has made it harder to contain infection.

Gaps in data and limits on health services have been major obstacles to the vaccination drive. According to UNICEF and the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, about 40 per cent of children had not been registered at all. As a result, it became difficult to identify children who missed the vaccine and to reach them with health services.

According to government figures, nearly a third of health worker posts in the country are vacant. As a result, delivery of vaccination and treatment to children in remote areas has been hampered. In some places, vaccination was recorded above the set target, which has raised questions about the accuracy of the figures.

One case showing the gravity of the crisis occurred in the Sylhet region of north-eastern Bangladesh. Two-year-old Arman Hossain had not been given the measles vaccine. His family sold their auto-rickshaw to pay for his treatment, but he died within 24 hours of being admitted to hospital. Arman's father said health workers could not reach their remote village.

In September, Bangladesh recorded an average of 1,198 new suspected cases a day, the highest average since May. This has underlined the need for wider steps to curb measles.

Health experts have appealed for children above five years of age to be included in the vaccination drive as well. About a third of all measles patients are in this age group. Closing the gaps in vaccination, preparing accurate data and taking health services to children in remote areas will determine whether Bangladesh succeeds in bringing measles under control.