Despite a slight decline in deaths, the transmission of measles continues across the country, with the total number of infected and suspected cases reaching 124,738 as of 8am on June 21.
Although 18.4 million children were brought under a nationwide vaccination drive a month ago, the outbreak has yet to be fully contained.
Health officials say that while deaths have declined over the past three weeks, new infections continue to rise. During the first 18 days of the month, more than 800 patients were admitted to hospitals daily, except for one day.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), in the 24 hours leading up to 8am yesterday, 807 suspected and 80 confirmed measles cases were reported. This took the overall suspected case tally to 91,789 and number of confirmed infections to 10,949.
Seven more children died from measles-like symptoms over the same period, raising the overall death toll from the ongoing outbreak to 677. This includes 93 confirmed measles-related deaths and 584 deaths with measles-like symptoms.
Public health experts attribute the prolonged outbreak to uneven vaccination coverage and weak enforcement of infection prevention measures. They have also warned of increased health risks for children ahead of the dengue season, particularly those already infected with measles.
The government, however, maintains that both infections and deaths have begun to decline in recent weeks and expects the situation to improve further in the near future.
The outbreak began to surge in mid-March, after which both infections and deaths rose sharply.
In response, the government launched an emergency measles-rubella vaccination campaign on April 5 in 30 severely affected upazilas. The drive was later expanded to four city corporations and nationwide from April 20.
Officials and experts say that with over 18.4 million children vaccinated by May 20—surpassing the initial target by more than 200,000—the situation is expected to improve further as immunity develops within three to four weeks of vaccination.
They also note that some children remain outside the vaccination net, and efforts are ongoing to reach them.
DGHS data shows hospital admissions dropped to 672 on June 13, but otherwise remained between 800 and 1,200 for most days this month.
In the last 24 hours, 807 patients with measles or measles-like symptoms were admitted to hospitals. So far, 75,902 patients have received hospital care, the majority of them children, all of whom have since been discharged after recovery.
Daily new cases have hovered around or above 1,000 throughout June, except on June 13, when 733 suspected and 63 confirmed cases were reported.
Since May 29, daily deaths have remained below 10, according to DGHS.
Public health expert Dr Mushtaq Hossain said the outbreak persists mainly due to two factors: vaccination coverage failing to reach the 95% threshold in all areas, and weak enforcement of infection control measures at both hospital and community levels.
He also said isolation and quarantine measures were not adequately implemented, while vaccination planning in many cases relied on office-based data rather than field verification, leaving many children unvaccinated.
He called for an updated micro-plan and door-to-door vaccination efforts targeting all children under five.
“There is no room for complacency as deaths are still being reported,” he said, warning that children infected with measles could face severe complications if later infected with dengue, as measles weakens immunity significantly.
DGHS CDC Director Dr Halimur Rashid said deaths—particularly confirmed measles-related fatalities—have declined since the vaccination campaign began, adding that some time is still needed for full impact.
He expressed optimism that the infection rate, which has already fallen in June compared to previous months, will continue to decline in the coming weeks.