Bangladesh, which once came close to eliminating measles, is facing its worst outbreak on record, with 999 suspected and confirmed measles-related deaths reported since March as hospitals struggle with overcrowding, shortages and a continuing influx of sick children.
The prolonged outbreak, despite a nationwide emergency vaccination campaign launched in April, follows disruption to routine immunisation in 2024 and 2025, experts said, when the country was going through political turmoil after a deadly uprising against then prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
Bangladesh is currently experiencing the biggest measles outbreak in the world, according to a list on the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention website.
Health officials and experts said missed vaccinations and vaccine supply problems as a result of the political upheaval had left children vulnerable, particularly infants under nine months who are too young to get routine vaccinations, helping fuel transmission across age groups.
Since the outbreak emerged in March, Bangladesh has recorded more than 166,000 suspected measles cases, including 19,835 laboratory-confirmed infections, according to Health Ministry data. The outbreak has been linked to 999 deaths, including 100 confirmed measles fatalities, while more than 146,000 suspected patients have been hospitalised.
Experts blamed the outbreak on weak programme oversight, insufficient monitoring and procurement policy changes under the interim government that replaced Hasina, disrupting vaccine availability and leaving many children unprotected against the highly infectious disease.
Health Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Husain told parliament on Monday the procurement changes triggered a vaccine shortage, while the 2024 postponement of a vaccination programme and the cancellation of a nationwide measles-rubella campaign the following year left more children vulnerable to infection.
The World Health Organization, UNICEF and other health agencies have also pointed to the disruption to immunisation schedules. Under-fives accounted for about 80% of cases during the early stages of the disease’s spread.
The outbreak follows years of progress towards measles elimination. Bangladesh maintained high measles vaccination coverage for much of the past decade, with rates staying at or above the 95% level recommended by the WHO for most of the period, apart from a dip during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Bangladesh missed its measles elimination target because of vaccination gaps in 2024 and 2025,” said Professor Mahmudur Rahman, an epidemiologist and former director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research.
“To my knowledge, Bangladesh has never witnessed so many children dying from measles. Nor have we ever seen such a high number of patients in a single year. This is a truly terrible situation, and the saddest part is that the victims are children,” he said.
Rahman said closing immunity gaps, increasing vaccination coverage and stepping up public awareness were immediate priorities to contain the outbreak.
