6 more die with measles symptoms, death toll rises to 816

Six more people died with measles symptoms across the country in the 24 hours until 8:00 am today, Saturday, all of them residents of Dhaka district.

According to official figures, a total of 721 people have died with measles symptoms since 15 March. In addition, 95 deaths have been confirmed as measles through laboratory testing. Altogether, the number of deaths linked to confirmed measles and measles symptoms has risen to 816.

The information was disclosed in the Directorate General of Health Services' (DGHS) regular measles bulletin published today, Saturday.

The DGHS statistics do not provide an age-wise breakdown. Epidemiologists say measles can affect people of all ages, although children are the most vulnerable. During an outbreak, all deaths involving measles symptoms are treated as measles-related deaths.

According to the DGHS report, 613 more people developed measles symptoms across the country over the past 24 hours. Since 15 March, the total number of people with measles symptoms has reached 122,763.

Meanwhile, laboratory tests confirmed 78 new measles cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed infections since 15 March to 15,272.

Hospital admission data show that 105,298 patients with measles symptoms have been admitted to hospitals since 15 March. Of them, 101,535 have recovered and been discharged.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Bangladesh recorded 42,174 cases of measles or measles symptoms during the six months from December last year to May this year, the highest number reported by any country during that period.