Measles: DPPH calls for declaring a ‘state of emergency’

The physicians’ organisation DPPH has urged the government to declare the ongoing measles situation in the country an “epidemic” and to take emergency measures.

At the press conference on Saturday, public health experts and physicians associated with DPPH said that when the spread of a disease becomes abnormal in terms of time, place, and affected population, when infections and deaths rise, and when the health system can no longer cope, it constitutes a public health emergency.

DPPH believes the current measles outbreak has reached that stage, and therefore called on the government to formally declare an emergency.

Public health expert Mushtaq Hossain said, “The government is undertaking all necessary measures to tackle the epidemic. It has canceled doctors’ leave and ensured uninterrupted services, and is also recruiting additional physicians. Only the formal declaration is yet to be made.”

Abu Mohammad Zakir Hossain, former director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), said measles spreads faster than COVID-19. Even after vaccination, immunity does not develop immediately; it takes two to three weeks. To manage the current crisis, hospital services must be extended to the grassroots level.

He also noted that previously, three out of every thousand measles patients in the country would die, but this has now risen to 10.

He emphasised that the government must carefully analyse the reasons behind this increase in the death rate.

Rashid-e-Mahbub, former president of the Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA), advised the government to take priority-based actions, noting that marginalised children are the most affected in the current situation.

Pediatrician Kazi Rakibul Islam said that during the interim government period, not only was measles vaccination neglected, but effective measures were also not taken to prevent post-measles complications in children, such as night blindness.

The press conference, moderated by DPPH Member Secretary Shakil Akhtar, also featured remarks from organisation member Faizul Hakim.

DPPH also put forward several urgent recommendations to address the situation. These include immediately launching a nationwide mass vaccination campaign; strengthening healthcare services from the upazila to the central level for rapid detection and treatment of infected children; initiating effective public awareness campaigns to counter misinformation and rumours about vaccines; establishing a robust disease surveillance system; and officially declaring a public health emergency.

Several policy recommendations were also presented. These include strengthening nutrition and Vitamin A programmes; prioritising malnourished children; reinforcing breastfeeding and nutrition initiatives; implementing health sector reforms and increasing the budget; reactivating the measles elimination strategy; strengthening vaccine supply; building national capacity for vaccine production to achieve self-sufficiency; granting constitutional recognition to healthcare as a fundamental right; and fully operationalising the six dedicated children’s hospitals built across the country as soon as possible.