Isolation, ICU facilities ready to tackle measles situation: Health Minister

Necessary isolation and ICU facilities are ready at hospitals across the country to tackle the measles outbreak, Health Minister Sardar Mohammad Sakhawat Hossain has said.

The minister made the remarks in response to a notice from NCP MP Akhtar Hossain in the National Parliament on Monday, April 6, regarding emergency steps to curb the measles outbreak.

The minister said isolation wards have been prepared in hospitals nationwide for measles patients, and rapid measures are being taken wherever needed.

"Allegations that there are no isolation facilities at the field level are not correct. None of our hospitals lack isolation wards," he said.

Regarding ICU facilities, the minister acknowledged that ICUs cannot be set up instantly, but swift measures have been taken considering the situation. An ICU unit at the Infectious Disease Centre was made operational within just 18 hours.

An ICU unit that had become non-operational after a project closure has been revived and fully activated by recruiting doctors, nurses, attendants and anaesthesia staff.

In his notice, Akhtar Hossain claimed that suspected measles deaths have exceeded 115 in the last three weeks, with 20 confirmed deaths, and thousands of children are being infected. He questioned whether the minister's statement that no measles vaccines had been administered for eight years was accurate. He also alleged a complete lack of isolation facilities in hospitals, including at district and upazila levels and major hospitals, particularly in Rajshahi region, and a lack of ICU and NICU facilities.

Responding to these claims, the health minister said the outbreak is a result of complete mismanagement and failure of past governments. Due to their mismanagement, many children, including newborns, remained outside the measles vaccine coverage and are now being infected. Short-sighted decisions by previous governments in vaccine procurement and collection created a shortage, leading to a crisis in measles vaccines along with six other types of vaccines.

The minister said following the prime minister's directive, emergency vaccination began on April 5 in 18 districts and 30 high-risk upazilas. All children aged six months to five years are being vaccinated. The target is to cover 1.2 million children in the first phase. On the first day, 73,000 children were vaccinated across 30 upazilas against a target of 76,000. The programme will begin in Dhaka, Mymensingh and Barishal city corporations from April 12, and in remaining areas nationwide from May 3. Additionally, Vitamin A capsule distribution began nationwide from Sunda