Dhaka: Bangladesh on Sunday said a severe measles outbreak has claimed lives of at least 94 children
in the past 19 days, prompting the government
to launch an emergency remedial campaign for the infectious disease.
As the outbreak affected 56 out of the 64 administrative districts, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s government blamed the Interim government of Muhammad Yunus for its failure to provide vaccines on time for measles.
Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said 10 of the total 94 measles related deaths occurred in 24 hours ending at 8 am Sunday even as the number of suspected measles cases detected grew to 5,792 during the 19 days, 974 of them since Saturday.
“The highly infectious disease has seen a sharp rise this year, particularly since March,” a DGHS statement said, attributing the phenomenon to vaccination gap last year.
The DGHS report suggests the outbreak has hit the hardest in the northwestern Rajshahi region where health officials have stepped up surveillance and case-tracking.
Health Minister Sardar Shakhawat Hossain Bakul said the emergency vaccination drive would cover the “worst affected areas” before being expanded throughout Bangladesh.