Health officials’ leaves cancelled amid measles outbreak

Amid growing concern over the nationwide measles outbreak, the government has taken several measures, including cancellation of leave of health staff to ensure proper treatment and a special vaccination campaign to tame the spread of the virus.
Over the 24 hours till Friday morning, three more people died from measles-like symptoms, taking the death toll to 94 across the country over the past 19 days.
The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has cancelled all types of leave for doctors, officials, employees, and health workers at government healthcare facilities to tackle an emergency situation caused by the recent measles outbreak.
According to an office order issued on Thursday by the administration wing of the DGHS, all earned leave and casual leave of physicians, officers, staff, and health workers working in government health institutions have been suspended until further notice.
The order stated that the decision was taken to ensure uninterrupted healthcare services during the emergency period and to strengthen the ongoing measles vaccination campaign across the country.
As a result, earned leave and casual leave of all officials and employees under the DGHS and its affiliated institutions will remain suspended until new instructions are issued.

Nationwide measles vaccination to begin tomorrow
The government will launch a nationwide measles vaccination campaign from tomorrow to contain the ongoing outbreak across the country.
Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain announced the decision at a press conference at the Secretariat on Wednesday after a meeting with UNICEF representatives.
“We will start emergency vaccination from Sunday. All leave for field-level staff has been cancelled to ensure full deployment,” he said.
All preparations for vaccine collection and distribution have been completed. Vaccines and syringes will be delivered across the country by Thursday and Friday. The procurement process through UNICEF is in its final stage, he said.
Children aged between 6 months and 10 years will be covered under the campaign. Routine immunisation under the Expanded Programme on Immunisation will continue alongside the special drive.

The minister said a previous measles campaign in 2020–21 could not achieve full coverage. He added that Tk601 crore has been allocated to procure vaccines and replenish supplies supported by Gavi.
He said the current age range was set based on recommendations from a national expert committee. Earlier, the vaccine was mainly administered to children aged 9 to 15 months.
Sakhawat Hossain said vaccination would be prioritised in high-risk areas. He acknowledged initial child deaths but said measures were being taken to bring the situation under control.
The health ministry and icddr,b also agreed to expand the use of bubble CPAP technology nationwide to reduce child deaths from measles-related complications, including pneumonia.

947 more hospitalised with measles symptoms
In the 24 hours till 8am Friday, 947 people were hospitalised with measles symptoms, said the DGHS in an update on Friday.
The total suspected cases were 5,792 so far from 15 March this year, while the health authority has confirmed a total of 771 cases in the country through laboratory assessment, it added.
A sudden measles outbreak is straining the country’s health facilities amid an acute shortage of vaccines. Infants dominate the list of fatalities and infections so far.
Health Minister Sakhawat on Thursday inaugurated a new outpatient treatment unit at the Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute to ensure proper treatment of children suffering from measles.
He also launched the first phase of nationwide hands-on training on bubble CPAP use for treating measles-induced pneumonia at the specialised hospital with support from the icddr,b.
According to health officials, the disease has spread to at least 56 districts of the country, while so far 69% of measles-infected children are under the age of two and 34% are under nine months.