6 die as measles

Six people have died in Bangladesh in the last 24 hours after contracting measles and showing symptoms of the highly contagious disease, taking the nationwide toll to 114 since Mar 15.

In the regular bulletin on measles on Saturday, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said the deaths were reported until 8am.

Of the six patients, two had tested positive for measles.
According to the DGHS, 16 people have died of measles since Mar 15.
Another 98 people died exhibiting symptoms over the period.
Two died in Dhaka and Tangail each.

The DGHS, however, did not disclose the age of the dead. Rajshahi Division saw the highest number of deaths at 50, followed by 38 fatalities in Dhaka Division, reports bdnews24.com

In the 24-hour span, 60 new cases were confirmed nationwide, with 488 suspected patients hospitalised. The hospitals in Dhaka alone saw 315 admissions. Since Mar 15, no fewer than 6,476 people have gone to hospitals with measles symptoms. Of them, 826 were diagnosed with measles.

In addition, 4,628 patients with asymptomatic measles were hospitalised during this period. Of them, 2,654 were discharged from the hospitals.