Bangladesh’s deadliest measles outbreak in decades is nearing the grim milestone of 1,000 child deaths, as a devastating epidemic sweeps through the country and crowded hospital wards fill with struggling babies.
Cries of sick children and the hiss of oxygen machines fill the air at Dhaka’s Shishu Hospital, where Rima Akter keeps a vigil beside her nine-month-old son.
“Just an hour ago, a child died, and they wheeled him out in front of us,” Akter said on Thursday. “We saw two children die today.”
Photo: AFP
Her son is one of scores filling the hospital’s measles wards.
At least 986 children have died since March, while suspected and confirmed cases have surged past 180,000, Bangladeshi Ministry of Health and Family Welfare figures showed.
Measles is highly contagious, spreading through coughs and sneezes, and has no specific treatment once caught.
Complications can include brain swelling and severe breathing problems. Although anyone can catch the disease, young children are particularly vulnerable.
More than 1,000 suspected cases are reported daily.
“I’ve been running to and from multiple hospitals since July to get my son the proper treatment,” Sanjana Islam Modina said, cradling her six-month-old son Ayan, who has an oxygen tube fixed to his nose.
He was first admitted to hospital with pneumonia in July, then contracted measles before finally securing a bed at the capital’s specialized children’s hospital last month.
The hospital has 101 children admitted with suspected or confirmed measles.
“His lungs were already very weak from the pneumonia, then with measles his breathing was affected more,” Modina said. “He’s been on oxygen constantly for the last five days.”
Most cases during the outbreak have been children aged between six months and five years.
Doctors said many of the children arriving at the hospital are already critically ill, with malnutrition further weakening their ability to fight the virus.
“The doctors gave my son a special milk specifically designed for malnourished children,” Modina said.
The outbreak has exposed gaps in Bangladesh’s efforts to protect its youngest.
SM Ziauddin Hyder, special assistant to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman for health, called the outbreak “devastating.”
Bangladesh had made major advances in vaccination against infectious diseases, but a measles drive planned for 2024 was delayed by the uprising that toppled former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
Workers’ strikes and political instability delayed a 2025 campaign.
The country has since rolled out a mass vaccination drive to combat the outbreak, but the number of cases continues to climb.
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