Complaints have emerged from different parts of Chattogram over children developing fever, cough, cold, and rashes within days of receiving measles vaccines, sparking anxiety among parents already grappling with a growing measles outbreak.
Several affected children are now undergoing treatment at Chattogram Medical College (CMC) Hospital, where wards are struggling to cope with the surge of patients.
However, doctors insist the vaccine is not causing measles.
Professor Dr Mohammad Musa Miah, head of the Children’s Ward at Chattogram Medical College Hospital, said the infected children had likely already been exposed to the virus before vaccination.
“The children did not contract measles due to the vaccination,” he said. “It takes 10 to 14 days for the measles virus to enter the body. It was found that the virus had already entered, and during this time, they also received the vaccine. The patient contracted measles due to the virus entering.”
Treatment for measles patients is currently being provided at Chattogram Medical College Hospital, Chattogram Mother and Child Hospital, Chattogram General Hospital, International Islamic University Medical College, and several private hospitals in the city.
However, there is still no measles testing facility in Chattogram.
For confirmation tests, patients must rely on icddr,b in Dhaka.
Although some private hospitals have said they would introduce testing, many families are unable to afford it because of kit shortages and high costs.
According to CMC Hospital, 97 measles-infected children were admitted to different wards as of Monday afternoon, while another 37 were under observation. Fifteen children have been placed in the Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
Between April 24 and May 11, three children admitted with measles symptoms died. One of them was confirmed to have measles. Doctors say most admitted children are below one and a half years old.
The outbreak continues to spread across Chattogram.
Data from the Civil Surgeon’s Office show that 57 new suspected measles patients were admitted in the last 24 hours alone, raising the total number of hospitalised patients in the district to 1,279.
During the same period, 55 patients were discharged, bringing the total number of recoveries to 1,030.
At present, 249 patients are receiving treatment in different hospitals.
So far, 115 people have tested positive for measles. One person died of suspected measles in the last 24 hours, taking the total death toll to six, including one confirmed measles death.
The Health Directorate said 900 samples have so far been sent for testing.
Despite the outbreak, the vaccination drive continues.
According to Chittagong City Corporation, the vaccination target within the city corporation area was 300,285 children. By May 10, around 92 per cent of the target had been achieved.
In 15 upazilas, around 2,90,000 children have so far received measles vaccines against a target of 693,000. The campaign will continue until 20 May.
Parents, however, are increasingly worried.
Ten-month-old daughter of Lohagara’s Barahatia resident Shimul Shil received the measles vaccine on May 3. Her mother, Shilpi Shil, said the child had been completely healthy before vaccination.
“A few days later, she developed fever, cold, and rashes on her body,” she said. “When her condition deteriorated, she was admitted to Chittagong Medical College last Saturday. Later, doctors diagnosed her with measles.”
A similar complaint came from Mohammad Hanif of Chakaria in Cox’s Bazar.
His 17-month-old daughter Ramisha and three-year-old child Waria received measles vaccines on April 28.
Hanif’s father, who is staying at CMCH Hospital, said the children showed no symptoms before vaccination.
“But within a few days, fever, cough, and cold started,” he said. “Later, when she was taken to Chakaria General Hospital on May 5, she was admitted to Chittagong Medical College on May 8 after her condition deteriorated.”
Another child, Aryan Islam, aged just three months and 22 days, has been undergoing treatment for a prolonged period.
His father Mohammad Abir said the child has remained hospitalised for the past 22 days.
“The child is getting worse day by day,” he said. “We are trying to take him to the paediatric ICU but we are failing.”
Doctors say measles is a highly contagious viral disease, and symptoms appearing immediately after vaccination should not be considered a direct side effect of the vaccine.
In many cases, they said, the virus may already have entered the body before vaccination, while immunity also takes time to develop after receiving the shot.
Chattogram Civil Surgeon Dr Jahangir Alam explained that measles infection occurs several days before symptoms become visible.
“If a rash appears on the body of a child today, it should be assumed that they were infected on Thursday or Friday,” he said. “Usually, this rash remains on the child’s body for 6 to 7 days.”
He added that children admitted to hospitals for other illnesses may also become infected after coming into contact with measles patients.
“The child’s body has developed measles symptoms due to coming into contact with an infected child before getting vaccinated,” he said.
At around 3 pm on Monday, the pressure of measles patients was most severe in Ward 1 of Chattogram Medical College Hospital.
Almost every bed in the ward was occupied by two to three children receiving treatment.
Children diagnosed with measles were being treated in a separate measles block on the second floor of the children’s ward. But as patient numbers continue to rise, doctors are struggling to maintain isolation facilities.
The ward remained hot and humid, filled with the cries and coughing of sick children and the visible anxiety of exhausted relatives.
Many children were seen writhing in their mothers’ laps in the unbearable heat, while relatives tried to comfort them using hand fans.
Parents complained that they panicked after their children suddenly developed fever, cough, and rashes. Doctors, meanwhile, said the overwhelming patient load has created additional challenges in ward management.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh has urgently imported new consignments of vaccines to tackle the outbreak.
According to information available in May, a shipment containing 10 types of vaccines, including measles, mumps, rubella, and oral polio vaccines, arrived in Bangladesh on 6 May.
These vaccines are usually sourced from manufacturing companies in different countries approved by Unicef or the WHO.
