Bangladesh reports five child deaths with measles symptoms in 24 hours

At least 11 children have died in the first three days of July

Health authorities have recorded the deaths of five more children with symptoms of measles over the past 24 hours.

The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said the tally of deaths due to the disease rose to at least 11 in the first three days of July.

According to the health directorate’s regular measles bulletin released on Friday, 93 people have died from confirmed measles infections nationwide since Mar 15.

Another 636 people have died after exhibiting symptoms consistent with the highly infectious disease.

As of now, Dhaka Division has recorded the highest number of deaths with measles-like symptoms, at 273.

This is followed by Rajshahi Division with 88 deaths, Sylhet with 83, Chattogram with 53, Barishal with 40, Mymensingh with 62, Khulna with 28, and Rangpur with nine.

The DGHS also reported that 139 new measles cases were confirmed in the last 24 hours.

During the same period, 968 people with suspected measles symptoms sought treatment at hospitals, of whom 851 were admitted.

Hospital admissions included 301 patients in Dhaka Division, 39 in Rajshahi, 87 in Sylhet, 181 in Chattogram, 137 in Barishal, 40 in Mymensingh, 45 in Khulna, and 21 in Rangpur.

Some 87,262 measles patients have been admitted to hospitals across the country since Mar 15, with 83,543 of them discharged after receiving treatment.

Overall, Bangladesh has recorded 103,961 suspected measles cases and 12,435 laboratory-confirmed measles cases so far.