Declare emergency as measles outbreak continues: Experts urge govt
Four more deaths from measles-like symptoms recorded today.
Public health experts have urged the government to declare a public health emergency as measles continues to spread across the country and the death toll keeps rising.
The call came at a press conference, "Child deaths from measles: What to do in a public health emergency," today (18 April) at the Dhaka Reporters Unity auditorium, organised by the Doctors' Platform for People's Health.
A public health emergency is declared when a disease spreads abnormally across time, place, and population, leading to a sharp rise in infections and deaths and overwhelming the healthcare system, they said, warning that the current situation has reached that threshold.
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One of the attending experts Dr Mushtaq Hossain said the government has already taken several measures, including cancelling doctors' leave, ensuring uninterrupted services, and recruiting additional physicians. However, a formal emergency declaration is still pending.
The experts said that measles, though highly contagious, is preventable and attributed the worsening situation to weaknesses in the vaccination programme, delays in vaccine procurement, bureaucratic hurdles, and inadequate attention to public health.
Expressing concern over the current situation, they alleged that during the interim government, both vaccination efforts and preventive measures against post-measles complications – such as night blindness – were neglected.
The speakers warned that the high number of child deaths from a preventable disease is unacceptable and that the situation may deteriorate further without urgent, coordinated action.
Meanwhile, the death toll from confirmed measles and measles-like symptoms rose to 215 as four more deaths were recorded in the country in 24 hours till 8am today, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.
During this period, 942 patients with measles-like symptoms were admitted to hospitals in the country.
So far this year, at least 37 children have died from confirmed measles. In addition, 178 children have died with symptoms consistent with measles.
