Five More Children Die Amid Ongoing Measles Symptoms Outbreak

Five more children showing symptoms consistent with measles have died in Bangladesh, taking the total death toll linked to confirmed measles and suspected measles symptoms to 729 over the past 110 days, according to the latest report from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

The latest figures, released on Friday, cover the 24-hour period from 8:00 a.m. on Thursday to 8:00 a.m. on Friday. They indicate that the outbreak continues to place significant pressure on the country’s healthcare system, with hundreds of new hospital admissions being recorded each day.

Among the five children who died during the reporting period, two were from the Chattogram Division, while one death each was reported in the Dhaka, Rangpur and Sylhet divisions. The health authorities categorised these fatalities as deaths associated with measles symptoms rather than laboratory-confirmed measles.

Since the outbreak began, 636 children have died after developing symptoms associated with measles, while another 93 deaths have been confirmed through laboratory diagnosis, bringing the combined total to 729.

The DGHS report also shows that 968 people were identified as suspected measles cases during the past 24 hours. At the same time, 851 children were admitted to hospitals with symptoms of the disease. Dhaka Division recorded the highest number of admissions, with 301 children hospitalised. Chattogram followed with 181 admissions, while Barishal and Sylhet divisions reported 137 and 87 hospitalisations respectively.

Hospitals also discharged 784 measles patients during the same period, suggesting that while many children continue to recover, healthcare facilities remain under sustained pressure due to the steady influx of new patients.

Bangladesh officially identified its first measles patient in the current outbreak on 15 March. Since then, the disease has spread widely across different parts of the country. According to the latest DGHS data, a total of 103,961 suspected measles cases have been recorded over the past 110 days. Of these, 87,262 patients required hospital treatment, highlighting the scale of the outbreak and its impact on paediatric healthcare services.

Laboratory testing has so far confirmed 12,425 measles infections. During the same period, 83,543 patients have been discharged from hospitals after receiving treatment.