DHAKA, April 29, 2026 (BSS) - Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Prof Pravath Chandra Biswas today said around 74 percent of measles-infected patients in the country had not received the measles-rubella (MR) vaccine, contributing to the rapid spread of the disease.

"74 percent of infected children had not received any dose of the vaccine, while 14 percent had received only a single dose," he told a press conference this afternoon at the DGHS conference room in the capital.

Prof Biswas said the government has intensified vaccination activities to control the outbreak, adding that no child will be left out of immunisation coverage.

Prof Biswas expressed hope that the current peak in measles transmission would decline soon. He noted that infections have already started to decrease in 30 upazilas identified as hotspots where special vaccination drives were conducted.

Advising against transferring measles patients from one hospital to another, he said separate treatment arrangements are in place at hospitals, making such transfers unnecessary.

He also informed that new vaccine supplies are expected to arrive in the first week of next month to support routine immunisation programmes.

Regarding the dengue situation, the DGHS chief said coordinated efforts are underway with the Local Government Division and other ministries to control the mosquito-borne disease.