Unicef said that gaps in immunisation worsened during and after the chaos of a 2024 uprising that toppled the country’s autocratic government, leaving large numbers of children unprotected.
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. While the disease can affect anyone, it is most common among children.
Health workers say the worst-hit children are often malnourished and from low-income families. Many had missed routine vaccinations or had weakened immunity due to poor nutrition, or both.
The department’s death toll comes after the Government claimed the outbreak was now contained, noting a decline in cases in several previously hard-hit areas.
Most cases recorded in Bangladesh during the outbreak have been among children aged between 6 months and 5 years.
Doctors say many of the children arriving at hospitals are already critically ill.
Ainul Islam Khan, a paediatrician at Dhaka’s Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital, said: “Though measles is highly contagious, a healthy baby with no complications can survive with minimal medication. Here, most children came to the hospital with respiratory distress and infections in the eyes, throat and lungs.”
– AFP