Due to an alarming rise in measles infections in Chapainawabganj district, an emergency vaccination campaign has been launched on a priority basis in three upazilas.
Among the district’s five upazilas, Chapainawabganj Sadar, Shibganj and Bholahat have been identified as high-risk areas and brought under this special program, officials said.
The campaign was inaugurated on Sunday (April 5) morning at the 250-bed District Hospital by the Deputy Commissioner Abu Saleh Md. Musa Jangi.
At the inauguration, District EPI Superintendent Md. Palash stated that, considering the high infection rate, a target has been set to vaccinate all children aged between 6 months and under 5 years in Chapainawabganj Sadar, Shibganj and Bholahat upazilas.
Civil Surgeon Dr. AKM Shahab Uddin said, “Work has begun with a target of vaccinating 167,287 children across these three upazilas. To ensure the success of this emergency campaign, all field-level health workers’ leave has been canceled since last Thursday and they have been deployed at their respective workplaces.”
Others present at the inauguration included Superintendent of Police Gautam Kumar Biswas, Deputy Director of the Local Government Division Ujjal Kumar Ghosh, and Superintendent of the 250-bed District Hospital Dr. Mohammad Moshiur Rahman.
According to statistics received from the district hospital on Sunday, 28 more children with measles symptoms were admitted in the last 24 hours. Currently, 60 patients are undergoing treatment at the hospital, with the majority being boys. This year, a total of 392 patients with measles symptoms have received treatment at the hospital and at least 8 deaths have been reported.
Residential Medical Officer Dr. Md. Abdus Samad said that with the launch of the special vaccination campaign, the situation is expected to improve within the next few days.