Let’s Talk About the Measles Outbreak in Bangladesh
Measles, low vaccination rates, and public health officials who don't seem to know what they are doing are not a good mix...
There is a measles outbreak in Bangladesh.
“At least 38 children have died of measles and related complications this year as the infectious disease is spreading in the capital and several other districts.”
At least 38 children dead in measles outbreak
And yes, that is a little unusual for Bangladesh.
Let’s Talk About the Measles Outbreak in Bangladesh
In fact, it is quite unusual for a country that had gotten measles cases under pretty good control once they started expanding their immunization programs about twenty years ago.
They even approached near elimination levels of measles cases!
And now?
Measles is back…
Sound familiar?
It should, it is the same thing that is happening in most other countries…
So what happened?
In addition to vaccinating kids at 9 and 15 months, in Bangladesh, there were special measles vaccination drives every four years to catch up anyone who had been missed.
“Regular vaccine drives have been ongoing, only the special campaign drive which was scheduled for June 2024 had to be postponed due to political unrest.”
Bangladesh PM orders probe into measles outbreak
Tragically, the last drive, which had been due in June 2024, never happened.
In fact, it was scheduled even earlier, but was delayed because of the COVID pandemic.
“Bangladesh has planned to conduct another MR SIA, “Measles-Rubella Vaccination Campaign 2020” during 29 February to 21 March 2020 targeting all 9 month to <10 years old children . It will be three week long campaign, during the 15 week vaccination will be done in all academic institutes where below class one to standard class four children are enrolled. During the 2nd & 3rd week, vaccination will be done in the community to vaccinate 9 month to <10 years old children through regular outreach, fixed, additional and HR/HTR sites. An estimated 34 million children are targeted in this Measles-Rubella vaccination campaign 2020.”
Measles-Rubella Vaccination Campaign 2020
It was finally held from December 2020 to January 2021 and reached 36 million children, but the country was still left with “one third of respondent countries (37%) still report experiencing disruptions to their routine immunization services.”
What else?
The measles SIA was in 2018 and that wasn’t even a nationwide campaign. It targeted Rohingya refugees.
So, that still means that the last large-scale nationwide measles SIA was actually in 2014.
“National measles-rubella catch-up SIA targeted children aged 9 mos–14 yrs, conducted during Jan 25–Feb 13, 2014 targeting 51,745,231 children.”
Progress Toward Measles Elimination — Bangladesh, 2000–2016
And that’s likely why measles has returned to Bangladesh.
It’s simple.
There are a lot of unvaccinated kids in Bangladesh who would have been missed by their routine measles vaccination protocols, especially not getting their second dose.
“The situation is particularly critical at the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Mohakhali, where a surge in cases has overwhelmed capacity. Hospitals nationwide are reporting overcrowding, bed shortages and rising complications, especially among malnourished children.
Health experts say the outbreak is being fuelled by declining vaccination rates, shortages of vaccines and field-level health workers, and the absence of a nationwide measles–rubella campaign since 2020. Stocks of multiple vaccines at central storage facilities have reportedly been depleted, raising concerns about further disease spread.”
Bangladesh measles outbreak: Vaccine gaps, malnutrition fuel child deaths
And now there are a lot of sick kids in Bangladesh with measles, many of whom have died.
Meanwhile, they are dealing with a measles outbreak that is almost certainly going to get much, much worse before they have any chance of regaining control.
USAID Funding Cuts to Bangladesh
A measles outbreak that will be even harder to control because of funding cuts from the administration of Donald Trump!
“US aid was key to funding vaccines combating a host of other diseases, protecting 2.3 million children against diphtheria, measles, polio and tetanus.”
US aid cuts push Bangladesh’s health sector to the edge
Remember all the news about funding cuts to USAID last year?
Well, now you understand one reasons for the shortages of measles vaccines and workers in Bangladesh to help control this outbreak.
That’s not the only reason though…
In 2024, after an uprising, Dr. Muhammad Yunus took charge of the government and quickly began instituting reforms.
“The root of the crisis lies in the appointment of Nurjahan Begum as Health Advisor. While she has been a long-time associate of Dr. Yunus, serving at Grameen Bank since its early days in 1976 and later becoming chairman in 2010, she has no academic background, professional training, or policy experience in health or medical administration. Her appointment appears to have been based solely on loyalty and personal history rather than merit or competence.
From the moment she assumed her role, critical decision-making slowed to a crawl. Experts say this lack of leadership has directly stalled progress in strategic planning, infrastructure development, disease prevention, and healthcare management. The situation has reached a breaking point with the unprecedented 18-month delay in approving the Operational Plan (OP) – the backbone of Bangladesh’s health service delivery.”
Bangladesh health sector faces collapse
Reforms that don’t seem to be working and a health care system being run by people who don’t know what they are doing…
More on Measles Outbreaks
Bangladesh measles outbreak: Vaccine gaps, malnutrition fuel child deaths
What MSF teams see after first 100 days of US aid budget cuts
How are aid cuts impacting child vaccines? The IRC’s critical response
Measles-Rubella Vaccination Campaign 2020. https://www.scribd.com/document/860998510/MR-Campaign-Final-English-12-02-2020-Final-version
The claim of no SIA for measles-rubella since 2014 is factually incorrect. WHO, UNICEF, and Gavi confirmed that Bangladesh successfully held a mass immunization campaign for measles and rubella from December 2020 to January 2021 that reached 36 million children and overcame the additional challenges posed by COVID-19.
WHO/UNICEF/Gavi. Child immunization services were affected by COVID-19 disruptions with millions of children at risk from deadly diseases. Joint press release, 26 April 2021. Available at: https://www.unicef.org/bangladesh/en/press-releases/child-immunization-services-affected-covid-19-disruptions-millions-children-risk