Measles and Dengue Striking Children Together as 1,200 Children Die of Measles in Seven Months

A measles outbreak suddenly appeared among children in the country at the start of this year. As patient numbers rose, child deaths climbed with them. In the past seven months, 1,200 children have died of measles.

What is alarming is that children are now being infected with measles and dengue at the same time, weakening their immunity. With dengue striking alongside measles, life-threatening complications such as inflammation of the brain, severe breathing difficulty and deadly pneumonia are appearing rapidly.

Recently in Chattogram, a mother and father lost their two young children within just two days of each other.

Public health experts had long been calling for the measles vaccination programme to be expanded. Measles is a completely preventable disease, so ensuring vaccination in every corner of the country, especially in remote and marginalised areas, is essential. The spread of measles over the past few months shows a major gap remains in the routine immunisation programme.

To control breeding of the Aedes mosquito that carries dengue, local government and the health department cannot be active only during the season; the work must run all year. There are serious shortcomings here too, and dengue cannot be brought down without public participation and awareness.

The health minister recently took responsibility for the child deaths on his own shoulders. But he did not acknowledge any negligence by the health department, nor did he make clear where and how the department's failures lay, or still lie.

A public health crisis of this scale cannot be tackled by relying only on hospital-centred treatment. Without restructuring the existing healthcare system, such complex situations cannot be handled — there is no alternative to urgent state action to save the children, those concerned say.