Dhaka, May 6 (IANS) At least six children died from measles and measles-like symptoms in Bangladesh, pushing the total number of confirmed and suspected deaths to 317, as the country grapples with an alarming health crisis, according to local media reports.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the deaths were reported in the 24 hours leading up to Tuesday morning.

The DGHS stated that among the six fatalities, two patients had tested positive for measles, while four died with symptoms.

The two confirmed deaths were recorded in the Dhaka division, taking the total death toll to 54.

Additionally, the four suspected measles deaths were reported, including two from the Sylhet division and one each in the Khulna and Rajshahi divisions, bringing the total death toll to 263, Bangladesh’s leading newspaper, The Daily Star, reported.

Reports suggest that 259 new confirmed cases were recorded during the same period, taking the total tally of confirmed cases to 5,726.

Additionally, the DGHS recorded 1,186 new suspected cases in the last 24 hours, pushing the overall suspected cases to 42,979.

Earlier on Monday morning, Bangladesh registered the highest single-day death toll from measles and measles-like symptoms, with 17 child fatalities reported over the preceding 24 hours.

As measles has killed more than 300 children since mid-March and infected more than 47,000 across Bangladesh, a report described the outbreak as an "avoidable disaster" and called for accountability from the previous interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, who dismantled a functional vaccine procurement system without the capacity to rebuild it.

“The country’s measles vaccination coverage rose steadily for two decades, becoming an international model for low-income countries. That record has now been squandered with shocking negligence by the past interim government,” an editorial report in The Daily Star stated.

According to the report, Bangladesh's Health, Population and Nutrition Sector Programme—which had been in place since 1998—was scrapped in March 2025 without an adequate exit strategy.

It stated that the stalled vaccine procurement, dwindling medicine supplies to more than 14,000 community clinics and exhausted buffer stocks during the tenure of the interim government had worsened the situation.

Slamming the interim government’s actions, the report said, “The lack of accountability warrants a probe committee—one with the authority to establish individual responsibility. The deaths of children are tragic. Those who dismantled this programme must answer for each of these deaths.”

--IANS

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