Bangladesh tallies 202,000 suspected measles cases
The WHO counts 1,147 deaths, 94% of them children under five, and a Reuters review points to weak data and routine vaccination that slipped in 2025.
Bangladesh is the country with the most measles cases in the world this year, according to World Health Organization (WHO) data cited by Reuters, as published by Dawn. From the start of the outbreak in mid-March to Oct. 9, 202 000 suspected cases have accumulated, 22 000 of them confirmed in a laboratory. Deaths total 1 147, and 94% were children under five. Our newsroom could not consult the original WHO bulletin: the figures come from the Reuters report.
A Reuters review, published Oct. 17 and based on WHO documents and interviews, explains the scale of the outbreak by three failures: weak data that left millions of children out, little information for parents and poor emergency preparedness. On top of that, routine vaccination weakened in 2025. According to a July report by the WHO and UNICEF, coverage that year was 90% for the first dose and 86% for the second, when about 95% is needed to stop outbreaks.
In April the government launched an emergency campaign that lowered the vaccination age from nine to six months. The target was 18.02 million children under five, starting at six months, and 19.75 million doses were given, according to the health directorate (DGHS), cited by Dhaka Tribune. Reuters adds that some families did not find out in time and that preliminary figures showed coverage above 100% of targets, a sign of counting errors.
Two different cutoffs
Earlier, with a cutoff of Sept. 9, the DGHS had counted 167 580 suspected cases and 1 002 deaths since March 15. The gap with the WHO figure is explained by the cutoff date and perhaps by the counting method.
Measles generally kills 2 or 3 of every 1 000 patients, but it is deadlier in poor countries, partly because of malnutrition, according to Reuters. In Sylhet, families told the agency their children died unvaccinated and that health workers arrived late. Mark Jit, a WHO vaccine adviser, summed it up as "a real warning to every country."
In September, Ziauddin Hyder, who advises Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on health, said the government was doing what it could. Reuters asked the government about the failures it identified and got no response.
