Four children died in Sylhet over the past 24 hours while undergoing treatment with suspected measles symptoms, taking the number of deaths from measles and suspected measles complications in the division this year to 164.
Another 146 patients with suspected measles were admitted to hospitals during the same period, according to a report issued by the office of the divisional director of health in Sylhet on Monday.
Of the newly admitted patients, 67 were taken to Shaheed Shamsuddin Ahmed Hospital and 60 to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital. A total of 495 suspected measles patients are currently receiving treatment at hospitals across the division.
The four children who died were Emran Hossain, from Kanaighat, Obaidullah, seven months, from Zakiganj, Safayet, 10 months, from Bahubal in Habiganj and Khadija, aged three years and three months, from Jagannathpur in Sunamganj.
Emran died at Shaheed Shamsuddin Ahmed Hospital, while the other three died at Osmani Medical College Hospital. The number of confirmed measles cases in the division has reached 1,044.
Dr Mohammad Nur-e-Alam Shamim, assistant director for disease control at the Sylhet health department, said there had been no deaths in the previous three days. He said all four victims had other illnesses and that health authorities were taking measures to control the outbreak.
“Patients should be treated at upazila health complexes unless their condition is serious. Those in critical condition should be referred to hospitals in the city,” he said.
He also urged people to seek treatment locally when possible, saying overcrowding at major city hospitals was increasing the risk of transmission. “There is no alternative to public awareness to bring the situation under control,” he added.