Measles outbreak: Death toll nears 750

Two more children have died with measles symptoms across Bangladesh in the past 24 hours, raising the total number of deaths linked to the outbreak to 747, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

The latest DGHS measles situation report published on Thursday said the deaths occurred between 8:00am on Wednesday and 8:00am on Thursday.

Of the total deaths since 15 March, 654 children died with measles symptoms, while laboratory tests confirmed measles in 93 deaths.

The report said another 818 children developed measles symptoms during the reporting period, bringing the total number of suspected cases to 108,998 since 15 March.

During the same period, 128 new laboratory-confirmed measles cases were recorded, raising the total number of confirmed infections to 13,198.

According to the DGHS, 92,031 patients with measles symptoms have been admitted to hospitals since 15 March. Of them, 88,419 have recovered and been discharged.

The report said no confirmed measles deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours. Of the two children who died with measles symptoms, one was from Dhaka division and the other from Sylhet division.