Bangladesh’s ongoing measles outbreak claimed the lives of four more children in the past 24 hours, raising the total number of suspected deaths to 609 since mid-March, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The latest health bulletin, issued on Friday, said all four deaths reported during the 24-hour period from 8:00am on June 25 to 8:00am on June 26 were classified as suspected measles deaths. No new confirmed measles deaths were reported during the period, leaving the cumulative number of confirmed deaths at 93.
The DGHS said 869 new suspected measles cases were recorded over the past 24 hours, taking the total number of suspected cases since March 15 to 97,522.
During the same period, 107 new cases were laboratory confirmed, bringing the cumulative number of confirmed measles cases to 11,549.
Since the outbreak began on March 15, a total of 81,283 suspected measles patients have been admitted to hospitals, while 77,613 patients have been discharged after recovery.
According to the DGHS bulletin, the highest number of suspected deaths reported during the latest reporting period came from the Dhaka Division, while the highest number of confirmed deaths was reported from the Sylhet Division.
At the district level, suspected measles deaths were reported from Chittagong District and Mymensingh District, while confirmed measles deaths since the start of the outbreak have been recorded in Gazipur District, Sunamganj District, Noakhali District and Mymensingh District, according to the bulletin.