Zakir Hossain from Dhaka
Bangladesh’s measles and measles-like illness death toll rose sharply to 409 on Monday after health authorities added previously unrecorded suspected deaths.
The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said 11 confirmed and suspected deaths were recorded in the 24 hours till 8am Monday. It also added 46 suspected deaths that had not been recorded earlier.
DGHS said the figures were updated after coordination with Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital, Rangpur Medical College Hospital and respective civil surgeon offices.
Officials indicated the actual toll could be higher. Data from two divisional health offices showed at least 34 more suspected deaths than the central tally. Until Wednesday, the central DGHS data showed no suspected deaths in Mymensingh division, though divisional data recorded 25. In Barishal, central data showed 11 suspected and five confirmed deaths, while divisional figures showed 22 suspected and three confirmed deaths since March.
Of the 11 new deaths recorded Monday, four were confirmed measles deaths and seven were suspected deaths. With this, confirmed deaths rose to 65 and suspected deaths to 344.
DGHS also reported 205 new confirmed cases on Monday, taking total confirmed cases to 6,819. Another 1,503 suspected cases were recorded, the highest in a single day, raising total suspected cases to 49,159.