Hundreds of children die within months as measles cases soar in Bangladesh

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. Hundreds of children die within months as measles cases soar in Bangladesh40 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleCaroline DaviesPakistan correspondentGetty ImagesOver 500 children with suspected and confirmed cases of measles have died in Bangladesh since March, according to the country's health ministryAkira was always a fast learner, her father Al Amin says with pride. At 6 months she was already saying her first words. At just over 4 years old, she had started to say some words in English.

He stops, his voice catching. "She was never short of love from both families. She was the crown of all.

The Details

"Al Amin, who lives with with his family in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka, says his daughter had all her vaccines, apart from measles. They took her four times to get it; twice she was turned away because she had a cold. "Don't stress," he says the health care worker told them, "the vaccine can be administered up until she reaches 5.

" The third and fourth time, he says, they were told the vaccine was unavailable. On 8 March Al Amin took Akira to hospital, suffering with what he thought was a normal fever. She improved, went home, then started developing a rash, a high fever and sores in her mouth.

She was discharged and readmitted to hospital a total of five times, Al Amin says; only on the fifth occasion did a doctor tell him she was suffering from measles. Akira was put on life support. She died 27 days after she was first admitted.

What Experts Say

Over 500 children with suspected and confirmed cases of measles have died in Bangladesh since March, according to the country's health ministry. The health minister said last week that doctors and nurses treating those with the virus have had their Eid holiday leave cancelled and the government has been running a mass vaccination campaign to slow the spread and save lives. Supplied: Al AminAkira's parents tried on four occasions to get her vaccinated against measles, but were unableAl Amin says he and his wife still torture themselves, thinking that their daughter may have picked up the virus in the hospital.

"From the ticket counter line to the x-ray room, there was a measles patient everywhere," he says. He is angry; that his child couldn't get a vaccine, that her symptoms were missed, that he feels the hospitals failed to keep patients with measles apart from others. In just over two months, the number of suspected cases of measles have reached over 60,000 in Bangladesh, according to the health ministry.

The exact number has not been confirmed, as many are waiting for results from the laboratory. Highly contagious, measles spreads quickly through coughs and sneezes and is particularly dangerous for unvaccinated young children under the age of 5. There are multiple reports of parents struggling to find space for their sick children in Bangladesh's hospitals.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.