2 more die with measles symptoms, 1,207 deaths this year including confirmed measles

Photo: Collected

A total of 1,207 people have died of measles and measles symptoms in the country this year. Of these, 1,103 died with symptoms, two of them in the past 24 hours. And 104 deaths were from measles confirmed by testing.

The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) gave this information in a release today (Thursday). It covers the period from 8am yesterday (Wednesday) to 8am today.

DGHS data show that in these 24 hours, measles symptoms were found in 995 people, and measles was confirmed by testing in 36. From 15 March to now, measles symptoms have appeared in a total of 217,760 people; 23,248 have been confirmed as infected with measles.

The most deaths with symptoms this year were in Dhaka division, 496. It was followed by 194 in Sylhet division, 102 in Chattogram, 93 in Rajshahi, 85 in Mymensingh, 65 in Barishal, 51 in Khulna and 17 in Rangpur division.

The DGHS began keeping count of measles and symptom cases and deaths on 15 March. However, not every patient coming to hospital, nor everyone outside hospitals, is tested for measles, so it is hard to work out the true number of cases. The DGHS figures mainly record data on patients who come to or are admitted to hospitals.

Background

Citing a report in the journal Science, The Daily Star Bangla reported on 1 May that a measles outbreak began in January this year in the Rohingya camps near the Myanmar border and quickly spread to many districts of the country.

The same report said that after vaccine purchases through UNICEF were stopped in September 2025 in favour of open tenders, vaccine stocks ran out and routine immunisation was disrupted; purchases through UNICEF resumed in April 2026, and emergency vaccination in high-risk areas began on 5 April.

By the numbers

Citing government data, the report noted that only 59 per cent of children received the measles vaccine in 2025.

At a glance

According to the same report, under the country’s routine immunisation programme children are given two doses of the measles-rubella vaccine at 9 and 15 months of age.

Background source: The Daily Star Bangla, 1 May 2026