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Published : 08 Jun 2026, 03:36 PM
Measles-related deaths have continued to tick up in Mymensingh, with another child dying and the district's death toll reaching 48.
Nearly 1,960 children have been admitted to hospital since Mar 17, with 112 still receiving treatment.
Over the past 24 hours, one more child has died while being treated at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital (MMCH).
On Monday, hospital’s Senior Store Officer Dr Jhontu Sarkar said the 6-year-old child from Sherpur's Sreebordi Upazila had been admitted on Saturday and died during treatment.
Dr Golam Mawla of the hospital's paediatrics department said children who had not been vaccinated accounted for most admissions.
He blamed parental negligence for the situation, saying proper immunisation could have prevented many cases.
Doctors have also found that some physically weak children have been infected more than once.
Authorities, however, insist that vaccination coverage has exceeded targets.
Dr Mawla said children who become infected despite vaccination are generally very weak physically and often lacked adequate nutrition during infancy.
A nationwide vaccination campaign for children aged six months to five years began on Apr 20 as measles cases surged.
Health officials set a target of 599,840 doses in Mymensingh district and 58,668 doses within the city corporation area.
Acting Civil Surgeon Dr Faisal Ahmed and city corporation chief health officer Dr HK Debnath said vaccination coverage had reached 101.66 percent in the district and 106 percent in the city area.
Despite that, infections continue to spread.
The measles isolation ward at MMCH is admitting between 25 and 30 children each day, according to Mawla, who said 95 percent of those patients had not been vaccinated.
Dr Faisal identified Mymensingh Sadar, Trishal, Phulpur and Muktagacha Upazilas as measles hotspots.
Over the past three months, 416 children have been infected and six have died in the Sadar area, while Trishal recorded 139 infections and three deaths. Phulpur reported 73 infections and four deaths, and Muktagacha 83 infections and three deaths.
He said similar conditions were being seen across other Upazilas and within the city corporation area.
As per the hospital records, 29 children with measles symptoms were admitted over the past 24 hours, while 17 were discharged after recovery.
The hospital's 64-bed isolation ward was found overcrowded on Saturday, with around 110 children and several adults receiving treatment.
Families complained of medicine shortages and other difficulties.
Rita Bhowmik, whose 4-year-old son, identified only as Nirbak, is being treated for measles, said they had not realised the importance of vaccination and had not immunised him.
Another 18-month-old child, identified only as Abdullah from Dapunia village, recovered and returned home during Eid but was reinfected on Jun 1 and has since remained in the isolation ward.
His uncle Sirajul Islam said the child had continued to fall ill despite receiving the vaccine.
Sajida Akter from Sherpur said her 5-month-old baby had been turned away from vaccination because the child was below the eligible age and later contracted measles.
Ali Yusuf, secretary of the Mymensingh city chapter of Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (SHUJAN), argued that weak awareness campaigns in rural areas had limited the effectiveness of the vaccination programme.
Dr Faisal rejected suggestions of shortcomings in the campaign, saying the vaccination effort had been fully successful and that remaining problems stemmed from “public negligence”.
Dr Debnath also defended the programme, saying targets had been exceeded and vaccination activities were continuing under government instructions.
