7 more children die as Bangladesh reels from measles outbreak

The health authorities have confirmed 282 new cases of the highly-infectious disease

A child with a confirmed measles case and six more with relevant symptoms have died over a 24-hour period in Bangladesh amid the ongoing outbreak.

In the 24 hours to 8am on Friday, 282 new measles cases were recorded.

In its daily update on Friday, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said the latest death from a confirmed case pushed up the countrywide toll to 58 since Mar 15.

Meanwhile, the tally of suspected measles deaths rose to 285 since Mar 15.

Dhaka Division has witnessed 138 deaths -- the highest across the country -- since the outbreak, followed by 78 in Rajshahi Division.

In the last 24 hours, 1,212 patients went to hospitals with measles symptoms. But 950 of them were hospitalised, with half the admissions reported in hospitals across Dhaka Division.

The number of suspected measles patients since Mar 15 has reached 46,710. Of them, 6,490 tested positive for the virus.