Of the total, 803 deaths are suspected measles deaths and 99 are confirmed measles deaths.
This correspondent yesterday spoke to doctors at the three major facilities treating measles patients: DNCC Dedicated Covid-19 Hospital, Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) and Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute.
Some 360 patients remained admitted yesterday, with 93 admitted in the previous 24 hours.
As many as 107 patients died at the hospital so far, with two deaths taking place in the previous 24 hours, he said.
As many as 102 measles patients remained admitted at the specialised hospital yesterday.
Measles continues to claim lives nearly three months after the nationwide vaccination campaign ended, with the death toll crossing the 900-mark yesterday, indicating that the outbreak is far from over.
In the 24 hours to 8:00am yesterday, eight more children died with measles-like symptoms, taking the combined death toll to 902, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Of the total, 803 deaths are suspected measles deaths and 99 are confirmed measles deaths.
The latest figures also show that the pace of deaths has not slowed significantly: the last 100 deaths were recorded in just 23 days, compared with 26 days for the previous 100, according to an analysis of DGHS data.
Health experts and doctors said lack of vaccination, along with comorbidities, malnutrition and delays in seeking hospital care, are major reasons behind the deaths.
They attributed the continued outbreak to a gap in vaccination coverage affecting around 40 lakh children, infections among children outside the campaign’s target age group, and inadequate infection prevention and control measures.
At least 798 suspected and confirmed measles cases were recorded in the 24 hours to 8:00am yesterday, taking the total number of cases to 1.59 lakh.
During the period, 700 patients were hospitalised with measles or measles-like symptoms, bringing the total number of hospital admissions to 1.23 lakh, according to the data.
The continued hospital admission and deaths are raising fresh questions about the effectiveness of the emergency measles-rubella vaccination campaign, as doctors found that most admitted patients and those who died were unvaccinated.
This correspondent yesterday spoke to doctors at the three major facilities treating measles patients: DNCC Dedicated Covid-19 Hospital, Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) and Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute.
Doctors at two of the facilities said the number of patients has been rising lately.
The number of patients declined after the vaccination drive in May but has been rising again in recent weeks, said Asif Haider, administrative officer of the DNCC hospital, where more than 13,000 measles patients took treatment.
Fewer than 300 patients remained admitted after the vaccination drive, but the number has now risen to nearly 400, he said.
Some 360 patients remained admitted yesterday, with 93 admitted in the previous 24 hours.
As many as 107 patients died at the hospital so far, with two deaths taking place in the previous 24 hours, he said.
Asked about the reasons behind the deaths, he said nearly 90 percent of the admitted patients are unvaccinated, while almost all those who died had not been vaccinated.
Besides, many children developed other viral infections after recovering from measles, which led to pneumonia and, ultimately, death, he said.
A total of 2,239 patients took treatment at Bangladesh Shishu Hospital, which recorded 70 deaths so far.
As many as 102 measles patients remained admitted at the specialised hospital yesterday.
Two children died in the previous 24 hours there.
Asked about the reasons behind the recent deaths, Mirza Md Ziaul Islam, director of the hospital, said most of the deaths had comorbidities like heart and kidney problems.
When children with such problems caught measles, their condition became critical.
Besides, most of the children had malnutrition and were non-vaccinated, putting them at greater risk, he added.
Over at IDH, the number of patients had increased over the last two to three days, according to its superintendent Asma Khan.
However, the hospital’s death toll remained at 53, as no new deaths were reported in the past two to three weeks, she said, adding that most of the infected children were non-vaccinated.
Contacted, DGHS Director General Pravath Chandra Biswas said they have taken a mop-up drive to expand the measles coverage and it would be strengthened further to bring unvaccinated children.
The mop-up drive is a targeted follow-up vaccination effort conducted after the main campaign to identify and vaccinate people who were missed.
Besides, they have already directed all hospitals to strictly maintain quarantine protocols to prevent the spread of the infection, he told this correspondent yesterday.
