Families of Measles, Cholera patients spend a bleak Eid inside Hospital in Bogura

While the country celebrated Eid-ul-Azha, several families in Bogura spent a somber holiday inside the isolation ward of a hospital as their loved ones battled measles and cholera infections.

Families said the Eid festivities turned into distress after children and adults developed severe symptoms and had to be rushed to hospital, where they were admitted to the isolation unit of Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital (SZRMCH).

One such case is Imran Hossain, who was travelling from Gazipur to Lalmonirhat with his wife Rehana Khatun and their four-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Intifa, when the child suddenly fell seriously ill in Sherpur upazila of Bogura.

Doctors at Sherpur Upazila Health Complex suspected measles and referred the critically ill child to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital. The child was later admitted to the measles isolation ward.

On Eid day (May 28), the child was seen lying on a hospital bed with rashes covering her body, while both parents remained by her side.

“I had bought new clothes for my daughter. But on Eid day she was on a hospital bed. She is our only child,” said Imran Hossain, adding that she was first taken to Sherpur hospital on Wednesday night before being shifted to the medical college hospital shortly after.

Another patient, eight-month-old Abdur Rahman from Raiganj in Sirajganj, was also undergoing treatment in the same ward. His father, Akidul Islam, said the child had been hospitalized since May 21 at Shaheed M. Monsur Ali Medical College Hospital before his condition worsened and he was transferred.

“He is in pain. Sometimes his neck bends. We just want him to recover,” he said.

Health workers said at least 31 patients, mostly children, were admitted to the isolation ward on Eid day with measles and cholera-related symptoms.

A 35-year-old woman, Taslima Begum from Dhawan village in Sirajganj, was also under treatment. Her husband said she was admitted about a week earlier and is now showing signs of improvement.

Despite the festive atmosphere outside, hospitals remained filled with distress, prayers and anxious waiting as families hoped for the recovery of their loved ones.