Bangladesh is among the countries reporting the largest measles outbreaks globally this year, with the death toll surpassing 800 despite a nationwide vaccination campaign.
The death toll highlights how rapidly a country that had nearly eliminated the disease has lost ground against one of the world’s most contagious viruses.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), six more people died with measles symptoms in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of deaths since March 13 to 803 as of Wednesday.
More than six people have died on average each day during the outbreak. The vast majority of the deceased are children.
Among the deaths, 708 were reported with measles symptoms, while 95 were laboratory-confirmed measles infections.
The latest DGHS bulletin said 904 people with suspected measles sought treatment at hospitals across the country in the previous 24 hours.
Of them, 834 were admitted, while laboratory tests confirmed 133 new infections.
Since mid-March, 120,352 people with measles symptoms have sought treatment, including 103,078 who required hospitalization.
Laboratory testing has confirmed 14,841 measles infections since March 15, although health officials acknowledge the actual number of infections is likely much higher because not all suspected patients undergo laboratory testing.
The highest number of deaths has been recorded in Dhaka division (307), followed by Sylhet (105), Rajshahi (90), Mymensingh (67), Chittagong (56), Barisal (43), Khulna (31) and Rangpur (9).
'Bangladesh among countries with largest outbreaks'
According to World Health Organization (WHO) surveillance, Bangladesh reported 42,174 measles cases between December 2025 and May 2026, the highest number reported by any country during that surveillance period.
WHO has assessed Bangladesh’s national public health risk as high and the regional risk as moderate, citing widespread transmission across 58 of the country’s 64 districts, declining routine immunization coverage and large immunity gaps among children.
The outbreak is indicative of a broader global resurgence of measles, driven by declining vaccination coverage in several countries in recent years.
Health experts note that Bangladesh’s outbreak is among the largest and most severe the country has experienced in decades.
From immunization success to historic resurgence
Only a few years ago, Bangladesh was regarded as one of South Asia’s immunization success stories.
Officials recorded 247 confirmed measles cases in 2024 and 132 in 2025, while routine immunization had reduced measles-related deaths to very low levels through decades of successful Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI).
This situation changed significantly when the interim government led by nobel laureate Professor Muhammed Yunus administration took the charge of the country after the mass uprising in Bangladesh in 2024 and disrupted the vaccination drive.
As a result, within four months, Bangladesh recorded more than 120,000 suspected measles cases and over 800 deaths, representing an unprecedented resurgence compared with recent years.
Health experts attribute the sharp increase to declining routine immunization coverage, leaving large numbers of children susceptible to infection.
Millions may still be unprotected
Following the outbreak, the BNP-led new government that took office in February 2026, launched an emergency measles-rubella vaccination campaign in high-risk areas on April 5 before expanding it nationwide on April 20.
The campaign targeted 18.02 million children aged between six months and under five years. Officials said vaccination coverage exceeded 100% of that target.
However, public health specialists argue that the target itself underestimated the number of eligible children.
During the National Vitamin A Plus Campaign in June, nearly 22.6 million children in the same age group received vitamin A supplements, suggesting roughly 4.6 million eligible children were not included in the measles vaccination campaign.
Experts state that this immunity gap has enabled the virus to continue circulating despite the nationwide vaccination drive, leaving millions of children vulnerable and sustaining community transmission.
Young children bear greatest burden
Nearly 80% of measles-related deaths have occurred among children under the age of five, underscoring the outbreak’s disproportionate impact on this age group.
A study conducted at Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute found that around 80% of children hospitalized with measles had not received a measles vaccine.
Another analysis by 19 researchers from icddr,b and Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute, based on 341 children treated between April and May, found that 52% of children who died from measles were younger than nine months, many too young to complete their routine immunization schedule.
WHO has similarly reported that around four in five measles cases during the outbreak occurred among children under five.
Pneumonia remains the leading cause of measles-related deaths, particularly among unvaccinated and malnourished children.
Vaccine procurement under scrutiny
Bangladesh had reduced measles-related deaths to very low levels through decades of routine immunization.
However, health experts say disruptions in vaccine procurement and declining routine immunization coverage have reversed much of that progress.
Earlier this year, the journal Science, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), reported that delays associated with Bangladesh’s transition to an open tender procurement system disrupted vaccine supplies and contributed to the resurgence of measles.
Until 2025, UNICEF procured vaccines for Bangladesh using financing from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the government.
In September 2025, however, the interim government replaced that arrangement with an open tender procurement system.
UNICEF opposed the move, warning that it could disrupt immunization services and increase the risk of outbreaks.
At a press conference on May 20, UNICEF Representative Rana Flowers said the agency had warned the government at least 10 times since 2024 and had also sent several formal letters highlighting the risks.
Professor Dr Mohammad Reaz Mobarak, one of the senior most of Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute said shortcomings in the vaccination program had contributed to the current crisis.
He also noted that some mothers had not received measles vaccination themselves, meaning their babies may not receive adequate maternal antibodies.
Calling for urgent action, he urged the Ministry of Health to lead a coordinated, multi-sectoral response involving other ministries to restore routine immunization coverage, strengthen surveillance and research, and close the immunity gaps that have allowed Bangladesh’s worst measles outbreak in modern history to unfold.