Key developments: Bangladesh’s health system is wrestling with an unprecedented measles crisis, recording 202,000 suspected cases and 1,147 deaths since March, with 94% of fatalities among children under five. The outbreak has been linked to a slip in routine immunisation – first‑dose coverage fell to 90% and second‑dose to 86% in 2025, below the 95% threshold needed for herd immunity. While officials claimed the emergency drive had driven hotspots ‘almost to zero’ in May, September saw a resurgence of 1,198 new cases per day, the highest since May, prompting a fresh campaign targeting 3.4 million missed children.
Why it matters: Health experts warn this is a "real warning to every country" about the dangers of declining vaccination rates. The surge underscores systemic weaknesses: weak data, under‑staffed health workers, and large numbers of unregistered children (up to 40%). Continued transmission threatens to overwhelm hospitals already battling dengue and could reverse progress on child health indicators across the region.
What to watch next: Monitoring the effectiveness of the September‑launched outreach – whether village‑level mobilisation can close the coverage gap – will be critical. International partners, including WHO and UNICEF, are likely to increase support, but sustained funding and fixing health‑worker shortages are essential. Attention will also turn to proposals to expand vaccination to children over five, a group now accounting for a third of cases, and to studies on waning maternal antibodies in infants.
The situation remains fluid, and further updates from the WHO, Bangladesh’s health ministry, and on‑the‑ground reporting will determine if the outbreak can be contained before more lives are lost. [[1]]