Six more children have died from suspected measles infections in Bangladesh in the 24 hours to Tuesday morning, taking the combined toll of suspected and confirmed measles-related deaths to 1,263, health officials said.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services, 1,318 new suspected cases were reported in the same period, taking the cumulative number of suspected cases nationwide to 232,823. Another 82 laboratory-confirmed infections brought the total number of confirmed cases to 24,073.
Since mid-March, more than 207,000 patients with suspected measles have been hospitalised across the country. Of them, nearly 199,000 have recovered.
Health officials have urged parents to ensure children receive both doses of the measles-rubella vaccine, warning that gaps in routine immunisation during recent years have left a large pool of vulnerable children.
The outbreak has strained paediatric wards in district hospitals, with doctors reporting shortages of isolation beds in the worst-affected areas. The government says a catch-up vaccination campaign is under way in high-risk districts.
