Measles outbreak still a big concern

Amid the unabated measles outbreak, Bangladesh is launching the second round of a special vaccination campaign today (Saturday), targeting 3.4 million children nationwide. The move comes as DGHS data show more than 1,000 children have died and over 206,000 people have been affected by measles and related symptoms since March.

According to a Gavi-supported international review and data from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Bangladesh currently ranks first in the world in terms of measles cases and deaths.

The country has also been listed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as experiencing the world’s largest measles outbreak.

Against this backdrop, three more people died with measles symptoms in the past 24 hours, while another 1,265 people were affected.

From March 15 to September 25 this year, 1,084 children have died from measles and measles-related symptoms, according to the latest DGHS data released on Friday. During the period, the total number of people affected by measles and its symptoms stood at 206,848.

Despite a special vaccination campaign in April, the outbreak remains a concern. According to experts, there is a discrepancy involving around four million children in the vitamin A and measles vaccination campaigns. They believe the outbreak has not declined because around 95 per cent of children did not receive the measles vaccine.

The campaign will continue until October 31, with children who missed routine immunisation also included in the drive.

Several mothers of children affected by measles said their children had already developed fever and cold symptoms before they were scheduled to receive the vaccine, preventing them from getting vaccinated. They said they were also unsure whether their children's illness was caused by fever or a cold.

Doctors say vaccination is essential for developing antibodies in the body. Children should receive the two doses of the MR vaccine between nine and 15 months of age under the government's Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) schedule. They have also advised parents to ensure their children receive the additional dose. Health experts urged parents to take their children to vaccination centres for measles-rubella vaccination.

Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain said at a press conference on Sunday that a nationwide measles vaccination campaign was conducted from April to May 20 with support from UNICEF, Gavi and the World Health Organization. The target was to vaccinate 18 million children, while 102 to 104 per cent of the target was achieved, he said.

He said 22.3 million children were subsequently given vitamin A during a vitamin A capsule campaign. It was then found that around 4.3 million children had been missed in the previous vaccination campaign. Through a mop-up campaign, another 1.9 million children have already been vaccinated, leaving 2.4 million unvaccinated children. A further one million children who turned six months old in the past three months have since been added to the target, bringing the total to 3.4 million.

On September 10, the government collected 4.3 million doses of measles vaccine from UNICEF, while 1.5 million doses were already in stock. This brought the total stock to 5.8 million doses. Even after accounting for 10 per cent wastage, around 5.2 million doses will remain, the health minister said. This means the available stock will be sufficient to cover the 3.4 million children targeted in the campaign.