INSIGHT — Bangladesh is battling measles. It's a 'real warning' to other nations

After years of successes, vaccination programme faltered in 2025 Bangladesh reported 202,000 cases, 1,147 deaths 2026 so far Emergency inoculation rollout missed out millions, data shows Poor 'pay the price' when preparation falls short, says expert Government promises to reach all children, WHO pledges support By Ruma Paul, Jennifer Rigby, Sam Jahan and Zia Chowdhury SYLHET, Bangladesh, Oct 17 (Reuters) — Bangladesh is battling to contain the world’s worst measles outbreak, a crisis exacerbated by weak data, inadequate outreach and vaccination gaps that experts say offers a warning to other nations about the deadly risk of falling immunisation rates. Bangladesh, whose routine vaccination programme faltered in 2025, reported 202,000 suspected measles cases — 22,000 of them laboratory-confirmed — since the start of the outbreak in mid-March to October 9, the World Health Organization said. That’s more suspected cases than any other country this year. So far, 1,147 people have died of the highly contagious disease, with 94% of reported deaths among children under five years old, the WHO said. Bangladesh's experience shows the challenge of containing an outbreak when vaccination cover