Dhaka: Three more children died from measles-like symptoms in Bangladesh in the 24 hours until 8 am on Thursday, taking the total number of confirmed and suspected measles-related deaths in the country to 642, local media reported.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the latest three fatalities were classified as suspected measles deaths. With these deaths, the number of suspected measles fatalities has increased to 550, while the number of laboratory-confirmed measles deaths remained unchanged, United News of Bangladesh (UNB) reported.
During the same 24-hour period, Bangladesh recorded 1,110 new suspected measles cases, raising the total number of suspected cases in the country to 83,139.
Meanwhile, 132 new laboratory-confirmed cases were reported, taking the total number of confirmed measles infections in Bangladesh to 10,059.
Since March 15, a total of 68,056 patients with suspected measles have been admitted to hospitals across Bangladesh. Of these, 64,293 patients have recovered, according to the DGHS.
The severe measles outbreak continues to spread despite government claims that vaccination coverage has exceeded 100 per cent among the targeted children, raising concerns among immunisation experts over vaccine effectiveness and gaps in coverage, Bangladeshi daily Dhaka Tribune reported.
More than a month after the conclusion of a nationwide emergency measles vaccination campaign, hospitals across the country are still admitting more than 1,000 children daily with measles or measles-like symptoms, while the death toll continues to rise.
The continued surge in cases has alarmed public health experts, who said that high vaccination coverage figures do not necessarily guarantee protection unless children develop sufficient immunity.
"Measles transmission should decline significantly once vaccine coverage exceeds 90 per cent. If vaccination has truly reached the reported level, then infections should have fallen much more sharply by now," Dhaka Tribune quoted Be-Nazir Ahmed, former director of the government’s disease control branch, as saying.
Ahmed said official targets may not accurately represent the actual number of eligible children.
"In some cases, coverage may appear to be 100 per cent on paper while thousands of children remain unvaccinated in reality," he added.
With IANS inputs