Sm Najmus Sakib
22 May 2026•Update: 22 May 2026
Bangladesh on Friday reported 11 more deaths linked to measles and measles-like symptoms, bringing the total death toll since mid-March to 499.
Of the total deaths, 85 were medically confirmed measles cases, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
In the past 24 hours, authorities recorded 54 confirmed cases and 1,261 cases involving measles-like symptoms, raising the number of confirmed infections to 8,329 and suspected cases to 60,540.
Measles is a highly contagious viral disease that primarily affects children and can cause severe complications, including pneumonia, brain inflammation, and death, particularly among malnourished or unvaccinated children.
It remains one of the leading causes of vaccine-preventable child deaths worldwide.
The South Asian country of 175 million people has struggled to promptly confirm many infections because of a shortage of testing kits.
During the nationwide outbreak, the capital Dhaka has remained the worst-hit area with 210 deaths, including 50 confirmed measles fatalities, according to the DGHS.
The Health Ministry has already vaccinated more than 18.43 million children against an initial government target of 18 million set in consultation with UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), and other development partners.
Last month, the WHO said the outbreak was driven by declining vaccination coverage, particularly following a nationwide vaccine shortage between 2024 and 2025.
Echoing those concerns, UNICEF’s Dhaka office said at a news conference this week that vaccine shortages and delays in procurement contributed to the outbreak.
It also identified malnutrition among children and mothers, along with low exclusive breastfeeding rates, as factors behind the widespread infections and weakened immunity.
Meanwhile, a new policy brief published Thursday by the Global Antibiotic Resistance Partnership warned that vaccination gaps could worsen antimicrobial resistance in Bangladesh.
