Four more children die with measles symptoms, 96 new cases reported

Four more children with measles symptoms have died in Bangladesh over a 24-hour period. During this period, 96 new cases of the highly-infectious disease have been confirmed.

The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) regular bulletin on measles said on Thursday that 93 people have died of confirmed cases of measles across the country since Mar 15. In addition, 577 people with suspected measles symptoms have also died in that time.

So far, the highest number of deaths with measles symptoms has been in the Dhaka Division with 241. Meanwhile, 87 have died in Rajshahi, 74 in Sylhet, 49 in Chattogram, 38 in Barishal, 53 in Mymensingh, 27 in Khulna and eight in Rangpur.

The DGHS says that 96 new cases of measles have been reported in a 24-hour count. Over this period, 1,078 people have gone to hospitals with measles symptoms and 972 of them have been admitted for treatment.

The Dhaka Division saw 361 of 460 patients admitted to hospitals, Rajshahi saw 59 out of 63 patients admitted, Sylhet saw 69 out of 72 patients, Barishal 132 out of 132 patients, Chattogram 216 out of 216 patients, Mymensingh 49 out of 49 patients, Khulna 72 out of 72 patients, and Rangpur 14 out of 14 patients.

To date, the number of suspected measles patients admitted to various hospitals across the country is 75,156. Of them, 71,396 patients have been discharged.

Since the start of the outbreak, Bangladesh has confirmed 10,869 cases of measles in the country, but the suspected caseload is much higher at 90,982.