Bangladesh faces vaccine shortage for 10 diseases: Health services secretary
Vaccination to resume once doses arrive, he says
Bangladesh is facing a shortage of vaccines for at least 10 diseases, including measles, amid a rise in infections, Health Services Division Secretary Quamruzzaman Chowdhury has said.
"The government has already paid Tk604 crore to Unicef to procure the vaccines and expects supplies soon," he said during a visit to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) this afternoon (31 March).
"Vaccination programmes will resume once the doses arrive," he added.
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He said steps are underway to identify measles-prone areas across the country and strengthen immunity among children.
Amid the increase in measles cases, authorities are considering using other hospitals, including the National Heart Foundation, to treat non-measles paediatric patients.
The secretary said a high-level team of three experts has started work to determine whether a new variant of measles is affecting children.
He added that a 200-bed hospital in Rajshahi, which has remained unused after construction, will be made operational soon. Steps will also be taken to address staff shortages at RMCH.
Earlier, the secretary and director general of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Professor Pravath Chandra Biswas, handed over three ventilators to the hospital's Intensive Care Unit (ICU). They also held discussions with department heads and inspected overall services.
The visit follows criticism over alleged negligence by hospital authorities after child deaths linked to a shortage of ICU ventilators.
Meanwhile, 34 children were admitted to the hospital in the past 24 hours with measles symptoms, taking the total number of such cases to over 100. Of them, 41 tested positive.
A dedicated ward and two children wards have been turned into measles care units.
Hospital sources said 14 children died from various illnesses between yesterday morning and this afternoon. Among them, one child, Fatema from Chapainawabganj, died after contracting measles.
