Emergency jabs after 100 children die of suspected measles in a month in Bangladesh

Emergency jabs after 100 children die of suspected measles in a month in Bangladesh46 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleKoh EweandBBC BanglaGetty ImagesMeasles is suspected to have killed more than 100 people, mostly children, across Bangladesh since 15 MarchBangladesh has launched an emergency vaccination campaign after a fast-spreading measles outbreak is suspected of killing more than 100 people, mostly children, in what may be the country's most lethal wave of the disease in recent history.The campaign, which began on Sunday, comes amid more than 7,500 suspected measles cases since 15 March, according to health ministry data.More than 900 of these cases have been confirmed - a sharp increase from 2025, when just 125 measles cases were recorded over the entire year, local media report.While Bangladesh has long vaccinated children against the highly contagious disease, the recent outbreak has exposed gaps in its programme, raising concern."Vaccines are foundational to child survival," Rana Flowers, the Unicef representative in Bangladesh, said in a statement on Sunday, adding that the current measles outbreak was "putting thousands of children, especially the youngest and most vulnerable, at serious risk."Why is there a spike in measles in Bangladesh?In Bangladesh, a nation of 170 million people, routine measles vaccines are given to children as young as nine months old.But Shahriar Sajjad, deputy director of the Health Department, told BBC Bangla that about one-third of those infected in the recent outbreak were under nine months old.The infections of these young infants "who are not yet eligible for routine vaccination, are especially alarming", said Flowers from Unicef.On top of routine vaccinations, Bangladesh conducts special measles vaccination campaigns every four years.But these campaigns haven't gone according to plan.There have been no special measles vaccination campaigns since 2020, first because of C...