One and a half year old child Nurunonabi has severe fever and shortness of breath. He is being treated with a nebulizer in a hospital bed. Next to him in his mother’s arms is his older brother Mahmudunnabi, a three-year-old child.
Shaheen Mia and his wife of Narsingdi are spending sleepless time with these two children suffering from measles at the DNCC Dedicated Covid-19 Hospital in Mohakhali, Dhaka.
About 15 days ago, the two children were first shown by the village doctor when they were diagnosed with fever. Shaheen.
After taking the medicine, their fever also decreased. But after three days, both of them were again affected by severe fever. Since then, Shaheen Mia and his wife have been running to the hospital.
Mr. Shaheen said that the children were confirmed to be infected with measles from Narsingdi Sadar Hospital. After being admitted there for two days, he came to Dhaka on the doctor’s advice.
“The doctor said your child’s condition is serious, take him to Dhaka Children’s Hospital. I will come to Dhaka by ambulance later,” he told BBC Bangla.
Even when he came to Dhaka for treatment with sick children, Mr. Shaheen. Due to increased patient pressure, he had to visit three hospitals overnight.
Finally settled in Mohakhali’s dedicated Covid-19 hospital, which is now reserved for measles patients.
“I took the child to the hospital, there are many patients. Seeing the child’s breathing problems, I quickly took him to another hospital, the same situation there. I can visit this hospital all night. I don’t know if my child will return,” said Mr. Shaheen.
He was talking about this concern stating that the condition of his one and a half year old child Nurunonbi is now serious.
BBC Bangla spoke to another parent, Mohammad Anwar, who was standing in front of the intensive care unit or ICU of the same hospital on Saturday afternoon.
Standing on one side of the corridor, this resident of Dhaka’s Newbazar area was crying.
Eight-year-old daughter Yanur Akhtar was admitted to ICU 12 days ago with symptoms of measles.
Mr. Anwar said that the doctors asked to take his daughter from the ICU to a normal bed on Thursday night. But within a day he was again admitted to the ICU.
“Now the doctors are telling me to take her to another hospital. My daughter has a brain infection. What should I do? I don’t understand anything,” he told BBC Bangla.
‘The risk is increasing as the patient pressure increases in Dhaka’
“I took the child to the local hospital, the doctor said to take him to Sadar – we have not delayed, we are bringing him to Dhaka at once.”
Faizul Haque, a resident of Pangsha area of Rajbari, told BBC Bangla. Her three-year-old child has been suffering from measles for a week.
Many have headed to Dhaka hoping to treat their children with measles symptoms like him.
Some patients are being referred to different hospitals in Dhaka due to lack of emergency treatment capacity including ICU support.
Some are running to hospitals in Dhaka in fear, others hoping for better treatment, or on doctor’s advice.
A field visit to Dhaka Children’s Hospital and Mohakhali DNCC Dedicated Covid-19 Hospital (which is now designated for measles patients) showed that most of the admitted patients were from outside Dhaka.
Director of DNCC Dedicated Covid-19 Hospital Dr. Latifa Rahman said that the majority of the 457 patients admitted to the hospital (as of Saturday afternoon) with measles and symptoms of measles are from outside districts.
He says that although treatment is possible outside Dhaka, in many cases, patients’ relatives panic and choose hospitals in Dhaka for treatment.
“The pressure on us is increasing as many patients come from Mafswal. Maybe the treatment was possible there. But the risk is increasing because more patients are coming to Dhaka,” he said.
Miz Rahman says that some patients sent or referred by doctors are coming, also many are heading to Dhaka because of the thought that ‘better treatment can be obtained if they go to Dhaka’.
“Measles treatment is not complicated. We can get treatment at the district-upazila level by detecting the disease at the initial stage, by staying clean and eating nutritious food,” he said.
Allegations of lack of coordinated initiatives
According to the health department’s measles report, 453 children died of measles and measles symptoms in the two months from March 15 to May 16 this year.
Besides, more than 60,000 patients have been admitted to hospitals across the country during this period. Out of which about 37 thousand patients left the hospital after treatment.
According to the latest information provided by the Department of Health on Saturday, 1,69 new patients with measles and measles symptoms were admitted to various hospitals in the country in 24 hours.
Public health experts say the number of cases in children does not signal a decline in measles infections.
Although the public health expert Dr. thinks that an idea can be found this month. Mushtaq Hossain. Because in this phase, one month of measles vaccination of children will be completed on May 20.
He thinks that there is a kind of mismanagement in the treatment of measles because the integrated treatment system cannot be implemented. Hussain.
He says that all branches of the Ministry of Health are still not working properly, many departments are sitting for letters.
“We are hoping for a vaccine. When the infection will decrease, then the number of patients will decrease. Child death is unacceptable in any way,” he told BBC Bangla.
This expert is talking about working at the community level. For which he suggested to involve not only the Ministry of Health, but also the local government, the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs and all the related parties.
“It is not possible to expand the ICU to treat emergency patients. Where there is an ICU, you can convert it for children. But if the critical patients keep increasing, how do you handle it?” said Mr. Hussain.
image source, NurPhoto via Getty Images
This expert doctor is talking about making all the ministries including public and private hospitals active in the treatment of measles, in the same way as the coordinated treatment was given throughout the country during the Covid-19 epidemic.
He says, “It was done during Corona, so why not now? A community intervention through a guideline can help even one sick child recover before it reaches the emergency stage. Then the rate of new infections in other children will also decrease.”
Meanwhile, many children are suffering from pneumonia along with measles, as a result of which the situation is getting complicated very quickly. Hussain.
He says, “The immune system of children with measles is completely reduced, as a result of which they are affected by various infections. If there is measles, there is a fear of pneumonia in the child. Many children are dying because it is not possible to manage it properly.”
Meanwhile, Health Minister Sardar recently claimed that measles patients are being given all types of internationally recognized treatment. Sakhawat Hossain.
“No other country in the history of the world has been able to procure so many vaccines at such a rapid pace, for such a large population, in such a short period of time,” the health minister said, citing UNICEF and the World Health Organization.
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