B'desh measles toll reaches 336 as 12 more children die overnight

Twelve children have died of measles in Bangladesh in the past 24 hours, as the death toll of the contagious diseases outbreak reached 336, authorities said on Thursday. In the past 24 hours, 1,238 children with measles symptoms were admitted to hospitals nationwide and during the same time, 12 children died, said a Directorate General of Health Services DGHS spokesman.

Twelve children have died of measles in Bangladesh in the past 24 hours, as the death toll of the contagious disease's outbreak reached 336, authorities said on Thursday. The toll continues to rise despite a massive remedial campaign launched to halt the disease's rapid spread. ''In the past 24 hours, 1,238 children with measles symptoms were admitted to hospitals nationwide and during the same time, 12 children died,'' said a Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) spokesman. He said since the outbreak began on March 15, at least 336 children lost their lives from confirmed measles infections or symptoms of the disease. But several health experts and DGHS officials feared the actual toll could be much higher, speculating many deaths were not recorded as the afflicted children might not have been brought to hospitals and rather treated at home or remained untreated. According to health officials, there has also been a severe shortage of measles testing kits since last month. A DGHS statement, meanwhile, said 45,498 suspected measles cases were identified nationwide, and 28,238 patients were discharged after treatment. Bangladesh on Monday recorded its highest single-day deaths of 17 children. The upsurge of the disease caused a massive public outcry, prompting Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's new government to accuse Muhammad Yunus' past interim administration of failing to take the expected ''routine'' action in due time. Rahman earlier called the failure of the past regimes a ''life-destroying'' and ''unforgivable crime''.