Bangladesh at ‘high risk’ from measles: WHO

A large proportion of cases did not receive their measles vaccine, while others got only one dose, the UN agency says

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has assessed Bangladesh as being at “high risk” for measles.

The UN agency has also expressed concern about the spread of the disease and the public health risks it poses.

In a report published on Thursday, the WHO assessed the measles situation and made several recommendations to the government.

It was prepared after the National IHR Focal Point of Bangladesh notified WHO of a spike in measles cases driven by sustained domestic transmission on Apr 4.

The WHO stated that the risk at the national level is high due to “ongoing transmission across multiple divisions, the large number of susceptible children, documented immunity gaps, and the occurrence of suspected measles-related deaths”.

A substantial proportion of measles cases in the country has occurred among children who were either unvaccinated or had only received one dose of the vaccine.

The report stated that a nationwide shortage of MR (Measles-Rubella) vaccine between 2024-2025, alongside “routine immunisation gaps and the absence of regular nationwide supplementary measles-rubella campaigns since 2020, have increased the number of susceptible children and contributed to the current outbreak”.

From Mar 15 to Thursday, 39 people have died of confirmed cases of measles across the country, almost all of them children. The highest number of deaths was in the Dhaka Division, which has seen a toll of 25.

In addition, 194 people have died with symptoms consistent with measles. Of these, 90 deaths have been in the Dhaka Division and 66 in the Rajshahi Division.