Measles death toll nears 700 as 9 more children die in 24 hours

Nine more children died with symptoms consistent with measles in 24 hours until 8:00am on Thursday, bringing Bangladesh’s combined tally of confirmed and suspected measles-related deaths to 698.

The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has classified the latest deaths as suspected measles fatalities.

With the latest update, the number of suspected measles deaths has risen to 605, while the number of laboratory-confirmed measles deaths remained unchanged at 93, it said.

A total of 893 new suspected measles cases were reported during the 24-hour period, bringing the cumulative number of suspected cases nationwide to 96,653.

Meanwhile, 52 new confirmed measles cases were recorded, bringing the total number of laboratory-confirmed infections to 11,442.

Since April 10, a total of 80,497 patients with suspected measles have been hospitalised across the country, of whom 76,788 have recovered, according to DGHS data, reports UNB.