Bangladesh measles deaths surpass 1,000 after vaccination drive falls short 

At least 1,002 children have died from measles in Bangladesh, according to the country’s health officials, amid the world’s worst ongoing outbreak.

On Wednesday, health officials from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) also reported 187,484 measles infections since the outbreak began in March.

Measles is a highly contagious disease that causes fever and a distinct rash, and has no specific treatment when caught. Severe cases can cause brain swelling and breathing problems.

However, it can be prevented with two doses of vaccine. Infants too young to be vaccinated disproportionately contract and spread the disease. Children under the age of five accounted for more than 80 percent of cases early in the outbreak.

‘Truly terrible situation’

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said that the South Asian nation of 178 million is experiencing the largest outbreak of measles in the world.

Professor Mahmudur Rahman, former director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research in Dhaka, told the Reuters news agency that the situation was unprecedented in the country.

“To my knowledge, Bangladesh has never witnessed so many children dying from measles. Nor have we ever seen such a high number of patients in a single year. This is a truly terrible situation, and the saddest part is that the victims are children,” he said.

The WHO and UNICEF have linked the crisis to gaps in the nation’s immunisation programme that emerged in 2024 and 2025, during the political turmoil that followed the ousting of then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

On Monday, Bangladeshi Health Minister Sardar Husain told parliament that changes to procurement policy in that period created a vaccine shortage.

Four million unvaccinated children

A nationwide emergency vaccination drive, launched in April, vaccinated 18 million children. But official figures show roughly four million were never reached.

“We couldn’t achieve herd immunity,” DGHS spokesman Zahid Raihan told the AFP news agency, saying that teams were still searching for children who had been missed.

“Measles cannot be eradicated and the aim was to reduce casualties. We will keep vaccinating our children,” he said.

The outbreak is straining hospitals that are simultaneously handling a surge in dengue fever. More than 45,000 people have been admitted for dengue, and Tuesday was a record day for both admissions and deaths from the disease.