Over 1,000 deaths have been reported in Bangladesh as a measles outbreak has gripped the country since March 2026.
US News & World Report cited data from the country’s health minister, who reported 999 measles-related deaths since March. Meanwhile, the federal database reports that number to be 1,009, as of Sept 9 data.
US News says that the nation’s measles vaccination efforts have unsuccessfully stemmed the rise in cases, which may be as high as 166,000.
According to US News, an emergency vaccination drive was launched by the Bangladeshi government and international agencies in March, starting with infants and toddlers before expanding nationwide. Over 18 million children were vaccinated.
However, cases continued to rise.
The World Health Organization estimates 86% of children in Bangladesh are fully vaccinated in 2025, down from 93% in 2024, US News reports.
“Many children have still not received the measles vaccine, so we cannot go into a relaxed mode,” Tajul Abdul Bari, the former program manager of the government’s Expanded Program on Immunization, told NPR.
The country’s new vaccination target is 22.6 million children.
