Bangladesh health authorities on Thursday reported the deaths of five more children with measles-like symptoms, bringing the death toll since mid-March to 666.
Of the total fatalities, 93 were medically confirmed to be from measles infections, according to the daily Health Services Directorate bulletin.
Of the total cases, 297 were reported in the capital Dhaka division, according to official data.
Meanwhile, 139 new medically confirmed and 1,009 suspected cases were registered by the directorate in the past 24 hours, bringing the caseload during the period to 100,677. Of them, 10,773 were confirmed cases.
Bangladesh, which has a population of about 175 million, has struggled to rapidly confirm infections due to a shortage of testing kits.
UNICEF's Dhaka office cited years of inadequate vaccine coverage, child and maternal malnutrition, and low rates of exclusive breastfeeding as factors contributing to the outbreak and weakened immunity among children.
To fight measles outbreaks, the Health Ministry also ran special immunization campaigns. Since April 5, the ministry has already vaccinated over 18.47 million children.
Measles is a highly contagious viral disease that primarily affects children and can cause severe complications, including pneumonia, brain inflammation, and death, particularly among malnourished or unvaccinated children.
It remains one of the leading causes of vaccine-preventable child deaths worldwide.
