Doctors and public health experts from the Doctors Platform for People’s Health (DPPH) on Saturday urged the government to declare the ongoing measles outbreak an epidemic and take emergency measures, warning that the health system is struggling to cope.
Speaking at a press conference titled “Child deaths from measles: What to do in an urgent public health situation” at the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) auditorium in Segunbagicha of the capital, they said a disease becomes a public health emergency when its spread rises unusually in terms of time, place, and number of cases.
DPPH said the current outbreak has reached that stage and called for an immediate declaration of emergency.
Public health expert Dr Mushtaq Husain said the government has taken several steps, including canceling doctors’ leave and recruiting more physicians, but has yet to formally declare an emergency.
Abu Mohammad Zakir Hossain, former director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), said measles spreads rapidly and that vaccines take two to three weeks to become effective. He stressed the need to expand hospital services to the grassroots level to deal with the situation.
He added that the death rate has risen from three per 1,000 measles patients to 10, calling it alarming and urging an investigation into the causes behind the increase.
Dr Rashid E Mahbub, former president of the Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA), said children in marginalized communities are the worst affected.
Pediatrician Kazi Rakibul Islam alleged that no proper initiative has been taken for the measles vaccination program or for preventing post-infection complications.
To address the situation, DPPH proposed several urgent steps, including immediate nationwide mass vaccination, strengthening health services from the upazila to central level for rapid identification and treatment of infected children, increasing awareness to counter misinformation and rumors about vaccines, building a strong disease surveillance system, and declaring a health emergency.
