Bangladesh’s worsening measles outbreak claimed seven more children’s lives in the last 24 hours, while a renewed shortage of diagnostic kits has severely disrupted testing across the country, raising concerns over the government’s handling of the health emergency.

 

According to the latest data released by the Directorate General of Health Services, five children died with measles-like symptoms and two deaths were confirmed as caused by measles between Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

With the latest fatalities, the total number of deaths linked to measles and measles-like symptoms over the past 52 days has risen to 324, including 56 laboratory-confirmed measles deaths.

 

More than 1,000 children with measles symptoms were admitted to hospitals nationwide in the past 24 hours, while 373 new cases were confirmed. Health officials said the outbreak has spread rapidly across the country, with children being the worst affected.

 

Amid the surge, Bangladesh is again facing a shortage of measles testing kits. Officials at the Institute of Public Health said thousands of samples from across the country remain piled up as the laboratory can currently test only around 100 samples daily.

 

The shortage comes despite earlier warnings from UNICEF and the World Health Organization over vaccine supply disruptions and declining immunisation coverage.

 

In a recent interview, UNICEF’s Bangladesh representative Rana Flowers said changes introduced by the interim Yunus administration to vaccine procurement processes had delayed supplies and disrupted immunisation programmes.

 

According to officials, Bangladesh shifted from UNICEF-supported vaccine procurement to an open tender system for part of its vaccine purchases in 2025, despite warnings from development partners that the move could delay supplies by up to a year.

 

The transition reportedly contributed to vaccine shortages between late 2025 and early 2026, weakening immunity among children and helping fuel the current outbreak.

 

Health authorities said a fresh shipment of vaccines, including measles-rubella doses, arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday, while the WHO is expected to urgently send additional testing kits from its regional office in Delhi within the next week.