Seven more child deaths push measles toll to 709

Seven more children have died from measles and measles-like symptoms in the 24 hours to 8:00am on Saturday, taking Bangladesh's combined total of confirmed and suspected measles-related deaths to 709.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), one of the latest deaths has been confirmed as caused by measles, while the remaining six are classified as suspected measles fatalities.

The latest figures bring the number of suspected measles deaths to 615 and the number of laboratory-confirmed deaths to 94.

The DGHS also reported 744 new suspected measles cases during the same period, raising the nationwide total to 98,266.

A further 45 laboratory-confirmed infections were recorded, taking the cumulative number of confirmed measles cases to 11,594.

Since 10 April, a total of 81,955 patients with suspected measles have been admitted to hospitals across the country. Of those, 78,287 have recovered, according to DGHS data.