92% of measles deaths among unvaccinated children, 16 lakh more children up for shots
Death toll now 918.
Children in Bangladesh are dying almost every day from confirmed or suspected measles, with no single day passing without a measles-related death since April, according to data from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Data analysed by the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), with support from the World Health Organisation (WHO), show that 92% of children who have died from measles had not been vaccinated, according to Health Secretary Md Quamruzzaman Chowdhury.
The health ministry is now preparing to vaccinate another 16 lakh children who were missed by previous routine immunisation programmes, as part of efforts to contain the spread of the disease and reduce deaths.
Speaking to The Business Standard yesterday (18 August), Quamruzzaman said, "There are measles outbreaks in many countries in Asia at the moment. But ours is under control. Even so, deaths are still occurring and no death is desirable."
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
"We have already collected data to understand why deaths from measles are still occurring. By analysing data obtained by the IEDCR with support from the WHO, we have learned a few things.
"Among those who are dying from measles, 92% of the children had not been vaccinated. We see gaps that developed at different times as one of the main reasons why children were missed by vaccination," the secretary said.
He said gaps in vaccination coverage over several years had created a large pool of children who remained unprotected.
"Suppose 90% of children received vaccines in 2022, 2023 or 2024, but 10% were left out. If some children are missed in the same way the following year, a large cumulative gap is created. We believe a large number of children have been missed from vaccination," he said.
The ministry is now preparing a new vaccination programme to reach those children, with an initial target of 16 lakh, he said.
"We will fill the small gaps that have been created. We have data showing that there are no deaths among those who received the vaccine," Quamruzzaman said, adding that, "Now, the pockets of children who were missed will be identified and brought under vaccination."
"We have a meeting with Unicef today [yesterday]. We plan to collect another 25 lakh vaccines from them within the next two to three weeks. Vaccines worth around Tk41 crore are already in the pipeline and are expected to start arriving in the country towards the end of this month," he said.
However, not all of the vaccines in the pipeline are measles vaccines, he said. The government plans to procure other vaccines alongside measles vaccines through Unicef, with around 10 types of vaccines to be collected in total.
The government began a phased measles vaccination campaign on 5 April after the outbreak began in March. The programme targeted 18,015,064 children aged between six months and five years.
According to government figures, the campaign achieved 103% of its target.
However, a vitamin A campaign in June covered 2.26 crore children in the same age group. Comparing the target numbers of the two campaigns shows that nearly 46 lakh children were outside the target of the measles vaccination programme.
Dr Tajul Islam A Bari, a public health specialist and vaccinologist, told TBS that although authorities had said 100% coverage had been achieved in the measles vaccination campaign, the actual coverage was 81%.
"Since 95% of children have not been vaccinated, infections are not declining – and as a result, deaths remain high," he said.
He added that measles cases are also appearing in children older than five, emphasising the need to extend immunisation efforts.
"It is essential to conduct a campaign targeting children up to age 10 or 15. At the very least, all children under 10 must be vaccinated," he said.
Death toll reaches 918
As of yesterday, three more children died with measles-like symptoms in the 24 hours to 8am, bringing Bangladesh's combined tally of confirmed and suspected measles-related deaths to 918.
The latest update puts suspected measles deaths at 819 and laboratory-confirmed measles deaths at 99.
A total of 1,002 new suspected measles cases were reported during the 24-hour period, taking the cumulative number of suspected cases nationwide to 144,780.
Meanwhile, 59 new laboratory-confirmed cases were recorded, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 17,989
