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Published : 27 May 2026, 11:06 AM
Measles symptoms have claimed the lives of two more children at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital (MMCH), bringing the isolation ward's three-day toll to five amid the ongoing outbreak.
Anxiety tightens its grip on the families of children still fighting for their lives, as the festive joy of Eid vanishes entirely behind hospital walls.
Rayeba Akhter, whose son is admitted to the ward, said: “Eid is [on Thursday] but our family has no preparations. I have been at the hospital with my son for the last few days.
“Watching my son suffer and running around has left us exhausted, it is impossible to go home with my son without Allah's mercy.”
Bank official Shariful Islam, whose 10-month-old nephew has been in hospital for a month, said the daily deaths in the ward had made it impossible to shake the fear. "Every day a child dies in the ward and the dread just will not lift.
“My nephew is a little better than before, but if the hospital had an ICU I would not be this worried.”
Health officials, meanwhile, said the infection rate has started to drop as the vaccine begins to take effect.
On Wednesday morning, hospital Senior Store Officer Dr Jhontu Sarkar said the two deaths occurred over the 24-hour window from Tuesday morning.
He said a 17-month-old child from Netrokona’s Purbadhala Upazila died on Tuesday afternoon after being admitted with measles symptoms on May 20.
Later that night, a 5-month-old infant from Netrokona's Kalmakanda Upazila passed away after fighting the illness since admission on May 6.
Hospital authorities said 14 children were admitted with measles symptoms in the last 24 hours, while 27 were discharged after recovery, leaving 47 patients in the isolation ward.
Since Mar 17, a total of 1,623 children have been admitted with measles symptoms, of whom 1,535 have recovered and gone home.
Mohammad Golam Mowla, focal person of the measles isolation ward and associate professor, said vaccination is building immunity in children and bringing infections down.
"As a result, both cases and admissions are falling. The children who are dying had other illnesses on top of measles," he added.
