Measles kills two children, 84 new infections reported in a day

Health authorities are running a mass immunisation drive as measles cases cross 5,000 nationwide since mid-March

Two more children have died from measles in the past 24 hours in Bangladesh.

The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said in its regular measles bulletin on Thursday that 49 people have died from confirmed measles cases since Mar 15, while 227 deaths were recorded with suspected measles symptoms.

Dhaka recorded the highest number of deaths at 106, followed by 70 in the Rajshahi Division.

In the last 24 hours, 84 new measles cases were detected nationwide, while 1,151 people with symptoms were admitted to hospitals, of whom 848 were hospitalised.

Dhaka hospitals logged the highest number of admissions at 366 in the last 24 hours, while Rangpur reported the lowest at 11.

Since mid- Mar, a total of 37,131 suspected measles cases have been recorded, of which 5,028 have been confirmed.

Vaccination coverage has reached about 12.16 million children in eight divisions and roughly 1.5 million in city corporations.