Measles behind deaths of 9 Sitakunda kids

Staff Correspondent: Nine children, who died in remote hilly village Tripura Para area in Sitakunda upazila of Chittagong recently, were suffering from measles, said Prof Dr Abul Kalam Azad, director general of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

After hearing the news, a medical team from Dhaka visited the spot and collected blood and serum samples from the affected children and then conducted laboratory tests, the DGHS director general said.

Azad made the revelation at a press conference held at the IEDCR auditorium in the capital's Mohakhali on Monday.

All the children who died were suffering from malnutrition and as a result, infection transmitted from one body to another. The infection took a serious turn due to the malnutrition, Azad told the press conference following the tests.

Azad explained their investigation reports to journalists and said “sorry” on behalf of the health officials who for decades could not reach that small tribe group consisting of 85 families who live in remote hilly village Tripura Para area in Sitakunda upazila.

Azad said they are now revisiting their “whole micro-planning system” at the village level that they carry out before any immunisation campaign.

The director general assured that there is no alarm of measles outbreak in Bangladesh. The measles situation is as usual across Bangladesh.

“The disease spread out through measles virus. But it won’t further spread,” he said.

Citing malnutrition of the children as one of the reasons for the disease, Azad also said that no one will likely to be infected with the virus.

Treatment of the victims is on the go, he added.

Mentionable, a total of nine children died of measles, primarily regarded as unknown disease, in Sitakunda upazila of Chittagong.

risingbd/Dhaka/July 17, 2017/Shaon/Amirul