2 children born together die 2 days apart with measles

The tragic death of seven-month-old twin sisters, Roushni and Rabeya, in Cox's Bazar has plunged the family and the area into mourning. The two children died just two days apart while undergoing treatment for measles symptoms.

It is learned that the twin girls were born on September 4 last year to Azizul Haque, a farmer in Dakshin Mithachari village of Mithachari union in Ramu upazila of Cox's Bazar. There was a flood of joy after the birth. But a few days before Eid, they suddenly fell ill with cold and fever.

Although they were initially admitted to a private hospital in the city, they were taken to Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital when their condition deteriorated on March 22. After tests there, the two children were found to have measles symptoms. Roushni died first while undergoing treatment in the hospital's children's ward on Thursday evening. Then, Rabeya died two days later on Saturday morning.

Mother Maryam Begum and father Azizul Haque are devastated by the loss of their two daughters. The mother said in a tearful voice, 'The fever took away my two daughters.' Father Azizul Haque lamented, 'They came into the world together, and then left us two days apart.'

He said that he rushed to various hospitals to save his children, and even tried to take them to Chattogram. But in the end, they could not be saved.

Shahidul Alam, a doctor at the Child Health Department of Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital, said that five children, including twins, have died of measles symptoms so far. The infected also had complications of pneumonia and diarrhea.

Meanwhile, the government has started an emergency measles-rubella vaccination program in Maheshkhali and Ramu upazilas to increase the outbreak of measles in the area. The authorities concerned have said that they will pay special attention to remote islands and hilly areas.