DHAKA: More than 1,000 children have died from measles in Bangladesh during an outbreak that health authorities say has become the largest currently occurring anywhere in the world.
Bangladesh’s Directorate General of Health Services reported on Wednesday that at least 1,002 children had died and 187,484 infections had been recorded since the outbreak began in March. Children under five have accounted for a large proportion of cases, with infants too young to have completed routine vaccination particularly vulnerable.
Health authorities and international agencies have linked the outbreak to serious gaps in immunisation during 2024 and 2025. Political upheaval, changes to vaccine procurement and the cancellation or postponement of vaccination programmes left millions of children without adequate protection.
An emergency campaign launched in April has vaccinated around 18–20 million children, but officials estimate roughly four million remained unreached. Hospitals are meanwhile coping with both measles and a simultaneous dengue surge, with some facilities reporting bed shortages and patients receiving treatment on floors.