Bangladesh has initiated a month-long national vaccination campaign targeting 3.4 million children to combat what health authorities describe as its worst measles outbreak on record, exposing critical gaps in routine immunisation amid strained healthcare resources.
Bangladesh has launched a month-long national measles and rubella vaccination drive aimed at 3.4 million children, as the country battles what health authorities describe as its worst measles outbreak on record. Reuters reported that the campaign began on Saturday and targets children aged six months to five years, after officials lowered the minimum age for vaccination from nine months in an effort to slow transmission.
The outbreak has exposed serious gaps in routine childhood immunisation and added further strain to a health system already coping with a seasonal surge in dengue cases. Health data cited by Reuters showed that since 15 March Bangladesh has recorded about 187,000 suspected measles cases and 21,099 confirmed infections, with more than 165,000 hospital admissions and 1,087 confirmed and suspected deaths linked to the disease, including 101 laboratory-confirmed fatalities.
The World Health Organisation said Bangladesh has been facing the world’s largest measles outbreak this year. In April and May, the government, working with WHO, UNICEF and Gavi, had already mounted emergency vaccination campaigns in high-risk districts and in Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, where more than 166,000 children were immunised in a separate drive. Even so, health officials and aid groups have warned that major immunity gaps remain because some children missed earlier campaigns or were never reached by routine services.
Officials say the latest campaign is intended to close those gaps, reduce severe illness and deaths, and break chains of transmission before the virus sparks further waves. Measles is highly contagious and spreads through coughs and sneezes; it can cause dangerous complications such as encephalitis and severe breathing problems, particularly in malnourished children or those with weakened immune systems.
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