Experts urge closing vaccine gaps as measles deaths continue despite nationwide campaign
Experts warn that the disease cannot be brought under control without closing vaccination gaps and strengthening treatment at the community level
Highlights:
- Measles outbreak has killed 780 children in four months
- Suspected measles cases surpassed 116,000 nationwide, DGHS reported
- Experts urge closing vaccination gaps to reduce infections and deaths
- Community-level treatment needed; hospital care alone cannot prevent fatalities
- Vaccination campaign exceeded target, but immunity gaps remain significant
- Outbreak is easing, while dengue becomes the greater health concern
Measles continues to claim the lives of children four months after the outbreak began.
Experts warn that the disease cannot be brought under control without closing vaccination gaps and strengthening treatment at the community level.
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They say improving care at tertiary hospitals alone will not significantly reduce deaths.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), one more child died with measles-like symptoms in the 24 hours until 8am yesterday, taking the combined number of confirmed and suspected measles-related deaths to 780.
Of the total deaths, 685 were suspected measles cases and 95 were laboratory confirmed.
During the same period, 873 new suspected measles cases were reported, raising the nationwide total to 1,16,011. Another 140 cases were confirmed through laboratory testing, bringing the cumulative number of laboratory-confirmed infections to 14,244.
Public health expert Dr Mohammad Mushtuq Husain said the priority should be to close vaccination gaps and rapidly expand immunisation coverage.
"To reduce measles infection and mortality, the most important factor is filling the vaccine gap. Those who have not yet received the vaccine or whose time for the second dose has come must be vaccinated quickly," he told TBS.
He said children under 15 years of age who have missed vaccination should be brought under coverage as soon as possible, adding that coordinating measles vaccination with the typhoid vaccination programme could help improve the situation.
Dr Mushtuq also said strengthening treatment at tertiary hospitals alone would not be enough to reduce deaths.
"By the time a patient reaches a large hospital in critical condition, it is often too late. Effective treatment must be ensured at every level, from community clinics to upazila and district hospitals. That will reduce the number of critically ill patients and lower deaths," he said.
Following the outbreak, the government launched a nationwide measles-rubella vaccination campaign in phases beginning in April.
The campaign was expanded across the country from 20 April and concluded on 20 May.
Under the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), children routinely receive the first dose of the measles vaccine at nine months and the second dose at 15 months.
During the campaign, however, vaccines were offered to all children aged between six months and five years.
According to EPI estimates, the campaign targeted 1.8 crore children. DGHS data show that 1.85 crore children were vaccinated, exceeding the target and resulting in reported national coverage of 103%.
However, Dr Mushtuq pointed to a discrepancy between the vaccination campaign and the national Vitamin A campaign, which began on 28 June and targeted around 2.26 crore children in the same age group.
He said the difference of nearly 46 lakh children suggests that herd immunity has yet to be achieved because vaccination gaps from previous years remain.
Professor Dr Mirza Md Ziaul Islam, director of Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute, said many children admitted with measles also suffer from complications such as pneumonia and diarrhoea, contributing to the death toll.
He said, however, that the outbreak appears to be easing compared with previous months.
"Compared to before, the outbreak has already started to decline. The number of patients is lower than earlier, and the impact of the vaccination and Vitamin A programmes will become more visible gradually," he said.
Dr Mirza expressed hope that measles deaths would decline further by the end of the month but said dengue had now become the health sector's biggest concern.
"It is raining, and water is accumulating in many places. The priority now is controlling the breeding of Aedes mosquitoes. The measles situation should continue to improve, but we must remain highly alert to tackle dengue," he said.
