Bangladesh is facing its worst measles outbreak on record, with more than 166,000 suspected cases reported since the disease began spreading in March. Six months into the crisis, measles remains uncontrolled, with 1,002 confirmed and suspected deaths, including 100 confirmed measles fatalities.
The outbreak is the largest in the world, according to the website of the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Bangladesh, a South Asian nation of 170 million, also recorded the highest number of measles cases globally from January to June 2026, with 57,561 infections, the CDC said.
Bangladesh has recorded 19,835 laboratory-confirmed measles infections. More than 146,000 suspected patients have required hospital treatment. Earlier figures linked the outbreak to 999 deaths, including 100 confirmed measles fatalities.
The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has described this year’s outbreak as the country’s deadliest measles crisis in decades. More than 100 children died in less than a month during March, when the outbreak first emerged.
Young children have carried the greatest burden. Under-fives made up about 80 per cent of cases during the early spread of the disease. Infants under nine months are unable to receive routine vaccinations, leaving them especially exposed when measles circulates widely.
Health officials have acknowledged that failures in a vaccination drive may have contributed to the outbreak. Routine immunisation and vaccine supply were disrupted in 2024 and 2025, leaving a larger group of children without protection.
Health Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Husain told parliament on Monday that changes to procurement had caused a vaccine shortage. A vaccination programme was postponed in 2024, and a nationwide measles-rubella campaign was cancelled the following year.
Those setbacks came amid political turmoil following a deadly uprising against then prime minister Sheikh Hasina. The disruptions left children vulnerable as routine immunisation and planned vaccination efforts were interrupted.
Authorities launched a nationwide emergency vaccination campaign in April. The available figures do not state how many vaccines were administered, vaccination coverage before or after the campaign, or the campaign’s effect on transmission.
The persistence of the outbreak six months after it began underscores the scale of the public health emergency. The reported death toll includes suspected and confirmed measles-related deaths, while the confirmed fatalities account for 100 of the 1,002 deaths in the latest update.
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