Muyabia Labony ; Dhaka — In a damning revelation of public health oversight, it has been disclosed that 92 percent of the children who died from measles and related complications in Bangladesh this year had not received a single dose of the measles-rubella (MR) vaccine.
Between March 15 and the past Saturday, the country has recorded a staggering 708 fatalities linked to the highly contagious disease, with infants under nine months old accounting for 26 percent of the total deaths.
These alarming statistics were officially presented by the Bangladeshi delegation during a high-level regional expert committee meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO), held recently in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
According to data maintained by the integrated control center of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), 93 deaths were laboratory-confirmed as measles cases, while 615 individuals succumbed to severe measles symptoms within the designated timeframe.
Epidemiologists emphasize that during an active outbreak, every death exhibiting clinical symptoms of measles is statistically classified as a measles-related fatality.
Systemic Failure in Vaccination and Oversight
The grim situation was unveiled during the WHO South-East Asia Regional Verification Commission for Measles and Rubella Elimination, which took place on June 22 and 23.
Professor Mahmudur Rahman, Chairman of the National Verification Committee (NVC) for Measles and Rubella Elimination and former director of IEDCR, led the presentation.
The high-profile Bangladeshi delegation also included an assistant secretary from the Ministry of Health, an assistant professor from the Pediatric Department of Dhaka Medical College, and a technical immunization officer from the WHO Dhaka office.
Medical experts evaluating the crisis concluded that a critical immunity gap among children, combined with severe administrative lapses in monitoring the state’s Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), are the primary catalysts for this deadly resurgence.
While the national immunization guidelines mandate the first MR vaccine dose at nine months and the second at 15 months, a mere 8 percent of the deceased children had been reached by the program.
A detailed age-based demographic analysis presented at the Colombo assembly highlighted the vulnerabilities across various age groups:
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Under 9 months: 26% (Highest mortality rate)
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2 to 5 years: 18%
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9 to 11 months: 14%
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1 to 2 years & 5 to 9 years: 13% each
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10 to 15 years: 4%
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Above 15 years: 12%
The inclusion of adolescents and adults in the death toll indicates that the virus is actively circulating beyond early childhood brackets due to accumulated immunity deficits over the years.
Fabricated Statistics and Lack of Accountability
The scale of the outbreak has overwhelmed local healthcare infrastructure, with 98,266 patients admitted to hospitals with measles symptoms. Among them, 11,594 cases have been officially confirmed through diagnostic testing. To date, 78,287 individuals have recovered and returned home.
Commenting on the rapidly deteriorating situation, Professor Mahmudur Rahman noted:
“The data presented in Colombo reflected the figures up to the first half of June, which established that 92 percent of the deceased children were unvaccinated. By the last week of June, the death toll has surged past seven hundred, and I strongly believe the ratio of unvaccinated victims remains unchanged.”
Public health specialist Abu Jamil Faisal launched a fierce critique against the structural flaws of the country’s immunization drives, hinting at severe corruption and institutional complacency.
“Countless children were left completely unvaccinated, yet official records falsely claimed they were covered, celebrating superficial success. All previous statistics were fabricated, and data was heavily manipulated. There was absolutely no field surveillance or administrative accountability. Now, innocent children are paying the ultimate price for these structural malpractices,” Faisal stated.
Regional Alarm and Urgent Global Intervention
The current measles resurgence is not isolated to Bangladesh; neighboring South-East Asian nations including India, Nepal, Thailand, and the Maldives have also reported severe outbreaks this year. However, the rapidly escalating crisis in Bangladesh received exclusive focus at the Colombo summit.
On June 25, the World Health Organization issued an emergency press release demanding swift, targeted, and aggressive interventions to combat measles transmission in South-East Asia.
Furthermore, the global health body has formally requested the deployment of a high-level expert delegation to Bangladesh to conduct an on-the-ground assessment of the operational bottlenecks and to implement an immediate containment strategy.
The independent regional commission of the WHO operates through weekly surveillance reports gathered across every district in member states by dedicated medical officers.
The catastrophic outcome in Bangladesh serves as a stark reminder that superficial administrative reporting cannot replace transparent, boots-on-the-ground immunization management.
If Dhaka fails to urgently address its systemic gaps, enforce strict accountability, and launch an aggressive mop-up vaccination campaign, the country risks entirely undoing its decade-long progress toward infectious disease elimination.