Measles not coming under control: Treatment needs to be expanded

Measles infection in the country seems not to be coming under control at all. The statistics of child mortality are also only getting longer.

According to a news report of this newspaper on Tuesday, the overall death toll from the ongoing outbreak to 588 since March 15 as three more children died from suspected measles in last 24 hours till 8:00am on Monday.

The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said that of the total deaths recorded since the outbreak began, 498 were suspected measles and 90 laboratory-confirmed.

As a result, the latest suspected deaths were reported from Sylhet, Mymensingh and Khulna districts.

So far, the country reported 1,134 new suspected cases during the period, raising the cumulative number of suspected infections to 72,070 since the beginning.

It is believed that the actual number of deaths and infections is much higher.

As large portion of infected and deceased children across the country do not come under the hospital or these statistics.

Experts blame the interim government’s mismanagement of the vaccination programme for such child deaths.

Despite repeated warnings from UNICEF, they did not take sufficient measures.

Health experts think that the situation has largely spiraled out of control due to the delay in taking rapid and coordinated measures after the outbreak began in the country.

The situation has worsened due to the lack of timely vaccination, rapid patient identification and treatment, and the inability to ensure emergency medical services, including oxygen.

They said that it is important to strengthen the vaccination programme for children to prevent the spread of measles and to quickly bring affected children under treatment.

According to them, a large proportion of children infected with measles are suffering from pneumonia as a later complication.

However, said that although measles is highly contagious, 99 percent of patients recover if treatment is started quickly.

But if pneumonia, shortness of breath, and lack of oxygen in the body are not treated quickly, the risk of death increases.

Unfortunately, these facilities are not readily available at the district and upazila levels, and it becomes almost impossible for most parents to bring their affected children to major hospitals in big cities for treatment.

The tragic deaths of nearly six hundred children, the cries of their parents, the thousands of children in hospitals- naturally, have shocked the people of the country.

We believe that effective measures must be taken quickly to prevent infection and manage the disease.

It is very important to provide proper treatment to the affected people across the country.