Nearly 750 people, including baby Arafat, have tragically lost their lives to measles in Bangladesh over the past four months. Arafat’s story is particularly heartbreaking; his parents traveled nearly 10 hours to reach the hospital, only to see their little one grow worse with pneumonia and heart failure—complications from the measles virus. His father fainted in the ambulance, overwhelmed by the stress as he watched his first child become unresponsive. This is just one among the staggering more than 120,000 suspected and confirmed cases since mid-March, a spike that has left many families in despair.
“This disease was under control in our country,” says Mawla, highlighting the sudden resurgence. Vaccines have proven to be highly effective, so the question arises: why is this outbreak happening now? According to Miguel Mateos Muñoz, UNICEF’s spokesperson in Bangladesh, a “perfect storm” has led to this crisis. He points fingers at the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, which delayed vaccine orders last year, focusing instead on new vendors and restructuring the purchase processes. This decision has had dire consequences, as the government failed to communicate any specific warnings about the potential outbreak.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also played a significant role, causing delays in routine vaccinations and halting mass measles-rubella campaigns since 2020. Coupled with overcrowding and increased travel during Eid holidays, these factors have fueled the current surge in cases. It’s not just Bangladesh facing this issue; countries like the UK and the US have also seen rising measles cases, with children under five in both countries failing to meet the 95% vaccination threshold needed for herd immunity.
Daily new cases in Bangladesh are still approaching 1,000, and the public health experts are warning that this outbreak is a stark reminder of the dangers that come with interruptions in vaccine coverage. Three hours outside of Dhaka, the consequences of the vaccine shortage become painfully clear. Mosammat Nila Akhter and her husband took their 10-month-old child, Maliha, to a clinic in February for her vaccine, only to be told there were none left. As the outbreak escalated, Maliha was hospitalized with pneumonia but was discharged just days later. Shortly after, her parents noticed a rash on her belly, a telltale sign of measles.
Back at the hospital, they were met with a shocking reality—there were no available beds. They waited three hours at another hospital, hoping for a spot, as bed shortages forced children with and without measles to share wards. “The doctors just kept coming and saying, ‘keep wiping her body,'” Akhter recalls, her voice breaking as tears flow. “She would just look at me. Even with all those tubes and machines attached to her, she would try to reach out, wanting to crawl into my lap.” It’s gut-wrenching to think how much Maliha’s parents have suffered through this ordeal.
Public health expert Mushtuq Husain pointedly remarked that the government refuses to acknowledge this as an epidemic, calling the current figures merely “the tip of the iceberg.” In the wake of our visit to the measles ward in Mymensingh, we learned that baby Arafat has died. The reality is stark: he is now one of hundreds of children lost to this preventable disease. His father, in tears over the phone, is a haunting reminder of the pain families are enduring during this health crisis.
As the situation continues to unfold, we can’t help but wonder: what measures will be taken next? How many more lives will be affected before action is finally taken? The urgency for vaccination has never been clearer…
Kaynak: Orijinal Haber