Bangladesh is facing a major public health emergency as a widespread measles outbreak has reached all 64 districts, placing immense pressure on the country’s healthcare system. According to health authorities and international agencies, the highly contagious disease has spread rapidly across the country, reversing years of progress in immunisation efforts.
The outbreak has resulted in more than 95,760 suspected cases and 11,390 laboratory-confirmed infections so far in 2026. More than 680 deaths linked to suspected or confirmed measles have also been reported, highlighting the severity of the crisis.
Young Children Most Affected
Children continue to bear the greatest burden of the outbreak.
- Around 81% of reported cases involve children under the age of five.
- Infants younger than nine months, who are too young to receive their first routine measles vaccine, remain particularly vulnerable.
- Overcrowded Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char have experienced significant transmission due to dense living conditions.
Major urban centres, including Dhaka, Rajshahi and Chattogram, have also emerged as key hotspots, with hospitals reporting overcrowded paediatric wards and shortages of beds.
What Is Driving the Outbreak?
Public health experts attribute the surge to gaps in routine immunisation over recent years. Disruptions to vaccination programmes and delays in vitamin A supplementation left many children without adequate protection against measles.
The situation has been made worse by childhood malnutrition, which increases the risk of severe complications. Measles weakens the immune system, making infected children more susceptible to serious illnesses such as pneumonia and diarrhoea.
Emergency Response Underway
To contain the outbreak, Bangladesh’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, with support from UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), has launched a large-scale emergency response.
Authorities cancelled leave for healthcare workers in the worst-affected districts to strengthen hospital capacity. A nationwide Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccination campaign has immunised more than 18.4 million children, surpassing the initial emergency target.
While recent surveillance indicates that daily infections have started to decline gradually from their peak, health officials caution that case numbers remain high and continued vigilance is essential.
The outbreak underscores the critical importance of maintaining routine vaccination programmes and rapid public health interventions to prevent the spread of highly contagious diseases.