Measles spreading from hospitals

Ten-month-old Sohamoni was admitted to Madaripur Sadar Hospital with pneumonia. Two other children suffering from measles were in the same room undergoing treatment. Within a few days, Sohamoni also contracted measles. As her condition deteriorated, she was moved to the Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute in the capital. A day after admission there, the child died in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on April 10.

Sohamoni is not an isolated case. Families of most children who died of measles at the Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute allege that their children were initially admitted for other illnesses. The measles infection was detected while they were undergoing treatment. Health experts support these allegations, though hospital authorities reject the claim. However, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the regulatory body, emphasized the need to understand the reality on the ground.

This is the largest hospital for children's treatment in the country. Since last March, 29 children have died of measles at this hospital. This picture of measles spreading from the hospital emerged through in-depth interviews with their parents. Similar information was gathered by speaking with parents of children treated for measles in other hospitals across Dhaka. They all claim that their children contracted measles from the hospitals.

Sohamoni's mother, Lima Akhter, openly shared how her child contracted measles after being brought to the hospital. She said that Sohamoni had diarrhea at nine months, followed by pneumonia. When the pneumonia worsened, she brought her to the hospital. A few days after admission, rashes appeared on her body, and she passed away from measles. Lima Akhter did not know that measles is a highly contagious disease that can even lead to death in children.

Mohammad Iqbal, a public health expert with 40 years of experience, stated that measles is a highly contagious disease. Unvaccinated children face a high risk of infection if they come into contact with a measles patient. Given how measles patients and general patients are treated together in the country, the virus is bound to spread within hospitals.

Visits to various hospitals reveal that the number of beds is inadequate compared to the influx of patients. Authorities are struggling to provide treatment amid this critical measles situation. The number of measles patients is rising daily, forcing hospitals to admit more patients than their sanctioned bed capacity. This causes suffering and creates fresh risks of infection. Additionally, since most hospitals in the country lack isolation wards, measles patients have to be treated alongside other patients.

Nine-month-old Labib was admitted to Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital in Barisal on March 7 with pneumonia. He contracted measles on March 13 while still in the hospital. Labib's father, Faizul Mobin, said that he is one hundred percent sure his son caught measles from the hospital. He added that at least seven to eight other children contracted measles in that hospital on the exact same day.

Health experts emphasize that measles is an extremely contagious disease that spreads rapidly through the air. An infected child can transmit the virus to 12 to 18 others. With the outbreak intensifying, the number of patients continues to rise, and the fatalities show no signs of stopping.

Comilla’s child, Md. Faruk, who was suffering from pneumonia, was transferred from Comilla Sadar Hospital to the Bangladesh Shishu Hospital in hopes of better treatment. A few days after admission, he also contracted measles. After spending his final three days in the Intensive Care Unit, he passed away on April 16.

Eight-month-and-four-day-old child Faruk spent more than three months in hospitals. His final 21 days were spent at the Shishu Hospital. Faruk's father, Md. Mozammel, lamented, "I brought him to the Dhaka hospital to cure his pneumonia, and he ended up dying of measles."

Regarding this matter, Md. Mahbubul Haque, Director of the Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute, said it cannot be claimed under any circumstances that measles is spreading from the hospital. He suggested that the measles virus might have entered the patients' bodies beforehand, and the rashes, fever, and symptoms simply appeared after hospital admission. However, he noted that because his hospital has relatively better treatment facilities, more "critical (critically ill)" patients come there.

Measles patients started arriving at the Dhaka Shishu Hospital in January of this year. In January, the number of patients was only two. Now, 87 children are admitted and receiving treatment. From January to May 15 of this year, a total of 669 children received treatment at this hospital. During this period, 29 children died from measles.

A specialized measles ward has been launched at the Dhaka Shishu Hospital. Multiple doctors and nurses on duty in this ward stated that at least 90 percent of the children receiving measles treatment at this hospital have records of recently receiving treatment at other hospitals.

The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has been keeping new data on the measles situation since March 15. Their data shows that six children died of measles and measles symptoms in the last 24 hours. So far, the number of deaths from measles and its symptoms stands at 459. Among them, the DGHS has confirmed that 75 children died specifically of measles. The number of infected individuals has reached 57,646.

Public health experts noted that before and after independence, from the 1960s to the 1980s, the prevalence of infectious diseases was high. Back then, many people were infected and died from tuberculosis, cholera, smallpox, and measles. Consequently, almost all district hospitals had "infectious disease" or isolation wards. After 1985, due to the government's Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) and other health measures, infectious diseases came largely under control. These wards were eventually abolished to prioritize non-communicable diseases.

Public health expert Mohammad Iqbal said that the need for isolation wards was felt anew during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, during this measles outbreak, it is evident that measles is spreading from hospitals because they lack separate rooms for the disease. As a solution, field hospitals must be built across the country on an urgent basis. Doctors and nurses need to be recruited on an ad-hoc basis. Utilizing urban community centers could yield good results, the public health expert added.

Md. Halimur Rashid, Director of the Disease Control Division of the regulatory body DGHS, emphasized the need to understand the reality. He said, "I am unaware of information regarding measles and general patients being treated together. Hospitals have to provide treatment by admitting 500 patients where there is a capacity for 100 beds. If separate arrangements are made for measles, where will the other patients go? This is not possible for all hospitals to implement. However, several hospitals do have isolation wards."