Suspected measles cases kill nearly 1,000 as Bangladesh struggles to contain outbreak
Bangladesh is facing a severe measles outbreak that has resulted in nearly 1,000 deaths since the beginning of 2026. The government, supported by international health organizations, is struggling to contain the spread following setbacks in the national vaccination program.
Why it matters
The high death toll highlights the critical importance of vaccination programs and the risks posed by public health infrastructure failures in developing nations.
Eight-month-old Rojatun Jannat Ramisa is struggling to breathe in a hospital in Bangladesh’s capital as her parents sit helplessly beside her. She's one of thousands of children sickened by a measles outbreak that's sweeping across the country and has killed hundreds of children following setbacks to the country's vaccine programme.
Ramisa’s mother Ranu Akhter travelled hundreds of kilometres after doctors in eastern Bangladesh referred her to a specialised child hospital in Dhaka to seek treatment for the life-threatening condition.
“Fourteen days ago, when we were at the district hospital, there were other children being treated alongside my daughter. I saw that those children also had red rashes on their bodies, sores in their mouths and fevers,” Ms. Akhter told The Associated Press at Dhaka Shishu Hospital.
“It made me realise how widespread the measles outbreak is,” she said. Every day, the death toll is rising.
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