Children’s cries have not stopped, because measles deaths are still not falling, and the outbreak is adding to worries every day. The government is therefore focusing on vaccination to bring it under control, and the health department has moved to widen coverage. A second round of the special measles vaccination campaign begins on Saturday (September 26) and runs until October 31. Children who missed their routine vaccinations are also being brought in.
Mothers of children with measles said their children had already fallen ill before they were due to be vaccinated: on the day of the vaccination they developed fever and colds, so the vaccine was not given. They said they could not tell whether it was because of the fever or the cold. Doctors say vaccination is essential for the body to build antibodies, and they urge parents to take the campaign seriously.
Paediatrician Dr Halima said the two MR vaccine doses due between nine and 15 months must be given, in line with the government’s EPI schedule, and the extra dose should be taken as well. “I want to tell parents: you must bring your children to the vaccination centres, and every one of you should give them the measles-rubella vaccine,” she said.
Professor Mirza Mohammad Ziaul Islam, director of Bangladesh Shishu Hospital, said: “What is starting now is called a mop-up programme. Mop-up means catching those who were left out, who did not know, or who could not come for some logistical reason. So this is also a very big factor.”
Building on the success of the earlier programme, the health department aims to vaccinate 3.4 million children aged six to 59 months this time. State minister for health MA Muhit said: “The prevention and control of any disease needs a kind of 360-degree approach, because the work of prevention happens in society, in the community, and it needs awareness alongside it.”
A nationwide measles vaccination campaign was earlier held from April to May 20 with the support of UNICEF, Gavi and the World Health Organization, with a target of vaccinating 18 million children.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report