The total death toll from the ongoing measles outbreak in Bangladesh has climbed to 555, after ten more children died from the disease and related symptoms in the 24 hours leading up to 8 am on Tuesday.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), one of the latest fatalities was a laboratory-confirmed case of measles, while the remaining nine were classified as suspected cases, with the highest number of suspected deaths—three—reported in the Dhaka division.

This brings the national tally to 88 confirmed measles deaths and 467 suspected deaths since the outbreak intensified on March 15.

The health authorities recorded 1,083 new suspected measles cases during the same 24-hour window, pushing the total number of suspected infections across the country to 66,023.

Additionally, 53 new laboratory-confirmed cases were registered, raising the overall number of confirmed infections to 8,772.

Since mid-March, a total of 52,530 suspected measles patients have required hospitalization, of whom 48,800 have successfully recovered and been discharged.

In response to the escalating crisis, the government launched a nationwide emergency measles-rubella vaccination campaign in April to halt transmission.

Inaugurated by Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain, the massive inoculation drive aims to vaccinate approximately 1.8 crore children aged between six months and five years nationwide.

This followed an earlier emergency campaign launched on April 5 with support from UNICEF, WHO and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which targeted over 1.2 million children across 30 high-risk upazilas spanning 18 districts.

Health Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Hossain recently offered a reassuring outlook during a visit to Barishal Sadar Hospital, stating that the measles situation is expected to come fully under control within four weeks as the vaccinated children develop robust immunity.

The minister noted that daily patient numbers have already begun to show a downward trend.