Deaths from measles, symptoms cross 500 mark as 13 more die

The death toll from measles and suspected cases since 15 March this year crossed the 500 mark on Saturday, raising questions over the effectiveness of the government’s nationwide campaign against the outbreak, including vaccination drives.
According to a daily bulletin of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), 13 more children died, including one confirmed measles case, in the 24 hours up to 8am on Saturday.
Apart from the deaths, 972 more patients, including 49 confirmed measles cases, were admitted to hospitals across the country during the same period, taking the confirmed case tally to 8,494 and suspected cases to 62,507 since 15 March. 
Meanwhile, Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain said the government had surpassed its target of vaccinating 180,150,64 children nationwide.
“As of 20 May, 184,31,149 children have been vaccinated, which is 102% of the target,” he said, adding that the vaccination campaign is ongoing and will continue until the situation returns to normal.

He made the remarks while speaking to reporters at his secretariat office in Dhaka on Saturday.
The health minister further said the government’s immediate priority is to save children’s lives and ensure the success of the ongoing immunisation programme.
“We should focus on addressing the current health crisis rather than engaging in a blame game over the vaccination issue,” he said.
He also said his ministry is not involved in the formation of a probe committee into alleged failures in measles vaccination, noting that the matter lies with the information adviser.