The number of children admitted to hospitals with measles-like symptoms continues to rise in Sylhet, forcing authorities to keep multiple patients on a single bed amid a shortage of space.
Hospitals are also struggling to provide critical care to seriously ill children because of a shortage of intensive care facilities.
To deal with the rising pressure, a 32-bed special measles isolation unit has been opened at the children’s ward of Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, in addition to the treatment already being provided at Sylhet Shaheed Shamsuddin Ahmed Hospital.
A five-bed ICU has also been added, taking the total number of ICU beds for measles patients in Sylhet to 22.
Brigadier General Omar Rashed Munir, director of Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, confirmed the matter on Monday.
He said the hospital had been struggling to accommodate patients due to the rise in measles cases.
“That is why a special measles isolation unit has been opened at the children’s ward of Osmani Hospital. Besides, five ICU beds have been added,” he said.
According to the Sylhet health department, 26 children have died with measles-like symptoms in Sylhet division since the beginning of the year. Of them, three had been confirmed as measles cases.
In the last 24 hours, 65 children with measles-like symptoms were admitted to hospitals, while three tested positive for measles in PCR tests.
A total of 280 children are undergoing treatment at different hospitals in the division. Of them, 126 are admitted to Sylhet Shaheed Shamsuddin Ahmed Hospital alone.
Hospital sources said Shaheed Shamsuddin Ahmed Hospital had been providing specialised treatment to measles patients from the beginning of the outbreak.
However, the sudden rise in patients has left the hospital struggling to manage the situation, with many children being kept in crowded conditions due to the bed shortage.
Doctors said long-standing weaknesses in vaccination management, delays in children receiving vaccines on time, and late hospital admission have contributed to the rise in complications and deaths.
