The government’s intensified measles vaccination campaign has started showing visible results, with infection rates falling significantly in 30 hotspot upazilas across 18 districts, health officials said on Sunday.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the number of new measles cases has dropped sharply in areas where emergency vaccination activities were launched on 5 April targeting children aged between five and 59 months. In many of the affected upazilas, daily infections have now fallen to single digits.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain said the special immunisation programme has reduced infections in the hotspot areas “almost to zero,” adding that the measles situation is now largely under control across the country.
Officials from the World Health Organisation also noted encouraging progress. WHO representative Dr Chiranjit Das said the decline became noticeable roughly two weeks after the campaign began, which aligns with the normal timeframe required for vaccines to develop immunity.
Health experts explained that antibodies usually take several weeks to form after vaccination, meaning the full impact of the campaign is still unfolding. Prime Minister’s Special Assistant for Health Affairs Dr SM Ziauddin Hyder said child mortality related to measles has remained stable while the broader health situation continues to improve.
District-level data also reflected the positive trend. In Chapainawabganj, hospital admissions linked to measles surged to nearly 100 patients a day in April, but the figure has now fallen to around 8 to 10 daily cases. Local health officials described the outbreak there as steadily subsiding.
A similar improvement was reported in Natore, where authorities said all targeted children in Sadar Upazila received vaccines under the measles-rubella campaign. Officials said the programme boosted immunity and restored public confidence amid earlier concerns over rising infections.
In Pabna, doctors also reported a significant reduction in patient admissions compared to March, when hospitals were receiving more than 20 measles cases daily.
Health authorities expressed hope that continued vaccination efforts and public awareness campaigns would further reduce infections in the coming weeks.
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