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The government has decided to launch a measles vaccination campaign in June next with a lowered age limit as the highly contagious disease spreads in Dhaka, Rajshahi, Chittagong, Khulna, and some other districts.
The government has also lowered the age limit in the measles vaccination campaign that is usually run every four years in the country outside the routine government vaccination drive. This vaccine is given to children up to five years of age.
However, age limits will not be changed for the routine vaccination drives, under which children aged between nine months and two years are given vaccines against 12 serious diseases, including measles, under the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI).
"We will launch the vaccination campaign that we usually conduct every four years so that children who miss the routine doses. This campaign was missed in 2024. However, we are making necessary preparations to launch the campaign in June this year," Deputy Director of the EPI Shahriar Sajjad told the FE.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting of the concerned body under the health ministry, it was leant.
The GAVI, the global Vaccine Alliance, has already provided the vaccine jabs to EPI. However, due to the shortage of other logistics, including technicians, syringe and others the campaign couldn't be implemented immediately, said the officials.
The GAVI will provide support in this regard, he added.
The situation has emerged due to the slow process of the routine vaccination programme in the country, it has been claimed.
Furthermore, around 8 to10 per cent of children remain out of the coverage of regular measles vaccination. The government tries to cover the population with a special campaign every four years. The campaign ran in 2016 and 2020 but it missed in 2024 due to the political turmoil.
"The special campaign didn't happen in six years," said the official.
This lap is considered to intensify the outbreak, according DGHS officials.
The government on Sunday announced over Tk 6.0 billion fund for the routine vaccination as this too got impacted and is facing slow progress due to shortage of necessary vaccine, logistics and manpower.
Prof Dr. Halimur Rashid, Director (Disease Control) of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) told the FE that there are higher cases of measles compared to 2024 as the special campaign was missed.
Our Chattogram correspondent reports that as the measles is spreading in Chattogram with more than 22 patients getting admitted to the hospitals including Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH), General Hospital and other private hospitals in Chattogram with symptoms of measles, fever, cold and pneumonia.
According to the Chattogram divisional health department, 95 people have already been infected in the entire Chattogram division so far.
Of them, 28 are currently under treatment in Cox's Bazar, 12 in Chandpur, 18 in Comilla and 22 in Chattogram. However, several more are hospitalised with symptoms.
Chattogram Divisional Director of Health Department Dr. Sheikh Fazle Rabbi said: "A patient with measles symptoms can also die from other complications. We are cautious about measles as this highly contagious disease can spread from one person to another."
Meanwhile, an emergency meeting was held at CMCH on this issue on Monday. The meeting discussed the situation and speakers said that the public needs to be aware of this disease and get vaccinated. Currently, there is no vaccine shortage, it was leant. Our Rajshahi correspondent adds: Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) Director Brigadier General PKM Masud-ul-Islam said the hospital is under severe pressure, with 2,500 to 3,500 patients admitted daily against a capacity of 1,200 beds. Despite limited manpower and infrastructure, doctors are trying their best to provide services.Newspapers
Professor Dr Shahida Yasmin, head of the paediatrics department at RMCH, said of the 30 children who died this year with measles-like symptoms, only one tested positive for the disease.
'The remaining 29 cases were tested, but none were confirmed as measles,' she said, raising fresh concerns about the nature of the outbreak.
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