Measles vaccination: Special drive in four cities from Apr 12

The special measles vaccination campaign will be launched in four city corporations on April 12, while the drive in the remaining districts and upazilas will begin on May 3, said Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain.

The comment came yesterday at the inauguration of the emergency measles and rubella vaccination drive at Nababganj Upazila Health Complex.

The emergency drive kicked off in 30 upazilas across 18 districts where infection rates are relatively high, aiming to bring more than 13 lakh children aged six months to under five years under coverage.

A special vaccination campaign will be carried out in Dhaka North and South City, Barishal and Mymensingh City Corporations from April 12. From May 3, the vaccination campaign will be rolled out simultaneously across the rest of the country, he said.

He blamed mismanagement by previous governments for the measles outbreak.

Meanwhile, MA Muhit, state minister for health, inaugurated the vaccination programme at Bhawal Mirzpur Union Council in Gazipur.

UNICEF is deeply concerned about the sharp rise in measles cases across Bangladesh, putting thousands of children, especially the youngest and most vulnerable, at serious risk, said Rana Flowers, its representative in Bangladesh.

“This resurgence highlights critical immunity gaps, particularly among zero-dose and under-vaccinated children, while infections among infants under nine months, who are not yet eligible for routine vaccination, are especially alarming,” she said, according to a UNICEF press release.

With coordinated action, this resurgence can be contained, she said, adding that UNICEF is working closely with the government and partners to reach every child, close immunity gaps and protect children from this preventable disease.

By targeting children aged 6 to 59 months in high-risk areas, followed by nationwide scale-up, this campaign will help prevent further tragic loss of young lives and close the immunity gaps driving the outbreak, said Ahmed Jamsheed Mohamed, World Health Organisation representative in Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, 10 more suspected measles deaths have been recorded in the 24 hours until 8:00am yesterday. In addition, five previously unrecorded deaths were added to the tally, taking the total number of suspected deaths to 113, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

DGHS, however, said a total of 17 deaths have so far been confirmed as measles-related.

Asked about the reasons behind the large gap between suspected and confirmed measles deaths, a DGHS official said that samples from suspected measles patients are tested at the reference laboratories in Dhaka, which take a significant amount of time.

In the meantime, the number of suspected cases is included in the list, while confirmed cases are updated later, resulting in a discrepancy between the two figures.

Besides, rash and fever, the main symptoms of measles, are common to several other diseases, he said.

Therefore, not all suspected measles cases are ultimately confirmed, which contributes to the difference between suspected and confirmed deaths, he added.

A total of 974 new suspected cases were recorded in the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 7,610.