Measles death toll hits grim highs in Sylhet, Mymensingh, and Faridpur as 5 more children die
The pressure on local healthcare infrastructure continues to mount, with 45 newly infected patients admitted to various hospitals across the district during the last 24 hours.
A surging outbreak of measles and measles-like symptoms has claimed the lives of five more children across the country over the past 24 hours, pushing institutional and regional death tolls to critical highs.
The latest fatalities have raised the aggregate death toll to 60 across the Sylhet division since January, 43 at the Mymensingh Medical College Hospital isolation ward since March, and 17 at the Faridpur Medical College Hospital.
The immediate casualties include two infants in Sylhet, two in Mymensingh, and one in Faridpur, all succumbing to severe respiratory and systemic complications.
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In Sylhet, divisional health authorities reported the passings of six-month-old Arifa at the Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital and eight-month-old Abdullah Al Mahi at the Shahid Shamsuddin Ahmed Hospital.
These latest deaths cement a heavy regional toll, with Sylhet district recording 23 deaths, Sunamganj 23, Moulvibazar 9, and Habiganj 5 since the start of the year.
Currently, 239 patients remain hospitalised with symptoms across the division, with 41 new suspected cases admitted within the last 24 hours alone, despite no new cases being confirmed via laboratory testing over the same period.
Total laboratory-confirmed cases across the Sylhet division stand at 165 for the period spanning 1 January to 30 May.
In response to the crisis, hospital authorities have scrambled to establish 20 specialised ICU beds at Osmani Medical College and 14 ICU beds at Shahid Shamsuddin Hospital, with pledges to expand numbers as patient influxes dictate.
Simultaneously, the isolation ward at Mymensingh Medical College recorded two fatalities over the 24-hour period ending this morning (30 May), as two young boys succumbed to post-measles pneumonia and subsequent respiratory failure.
The victims included a four-month-old infant from the Purba Jhinair area of Kishoreganj, admitted on 22 May, and a three-and-a-half-month-old infant from the Akua area of Mymensingh Sadar upazila, admitted on 25 May.
The hospital focal person, Associate Professor Dr Mohammad Golam Mawla, revealed that 38 new pediatric patients were admitted during the last 24 hours, bringing the current ward census to 116 children, reports UNB.
Since 17 March, a total of 1,708 children have been admitted to the hospital with measles-like symptoms, of whom 1,549 have been discharged upon recovery; however, the ongoing surge has resulted in an acute shortage of beds, forcing hospital staff to accommodate numerous distressed children on the ward floors and along public corridors.
The mortality count is mirrored in Faridpur, where the passing of eight-month-old Afsana, daughter of Rubel and a resident of the town's Alipur area, brought the localised institutional death toll to 17.
The infant passed away last night at the Faridpur Medical College Hospital.
Pressure on Faridpur's health framework continues to accelerate, with 45 newly infected patients admitted across the district over the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of hospitalised patients currently battling measles and measles-like symptoms to 138.
Faridpur District Civil Surgeon Dr Mahmudul Hasan confirmed that the prevalence of the disease is rising noticeably among children, prompting the reinforcement of specialised medical arrangements across all district clinics.
Concurrently, Faridpur's regional health authority has issued urgent appeals to parents to ensure strict adherence to routine childhood vaccination schedules and has advised immediate medical consultations if early indicators such as fever, bodily rashes, a cold, or cough are detected.
