At least 143 people, mostly children, have died in a measles outbreak in Bangladesh since March 15, with more than 12,000 suspected cases reported, marking the country’s worst outbreak in two decades.
Hospitals, particularly in the capital Dhaka, are reportedly witnessing a surge in patients as families travel from rural areas seeking urgent medical care.
At the DNCC Hospital in Mohakhali, originally established during the Covid-19 pandemic, wards are overwhelmed with children suffering from high fever, breathing difficulties and severe rashes.
Among them is 18-year-old Rubia Akhtar Brishti, who reportedly rushed her one-year-old son Minhaz to the hospital after his condition worsened. “He had a high fever and struggled to breathe. His whole body was covered in rashes,” she reported.
The hospital wards are filled with the sound of coughing and crying, with mothers using nebulisers to help their children breathe as the infection takes a severe toll on young patients.
According to the World Health Organization, measles is among the most contagious diseases globally and spreads rapidly through coughing and sneezing, raising concerns over further escalation of the outbreak.
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