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hospital in the capital’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area, 14 of whom were in the ICU.

Sonia’s daughter, Tasnia, is among them. Speaking to this correspondent at the dedicated measles ward, Sonia, who came from Nabinagar Upazila of Brahmanbaria, said her elder daughter Sumaiya developed a fever during Eid.

The 11-year-old girl underwent treatment at two local hospitals. During the treatment, she developed pneumonia, and, after a few days, contracted measles.

“At one stage, the local hospital advised us to take her to Dhaka as her condition deteriorated. We tried to admit her to government hospitals but failed, so we were forced to admit her to a private hospital,” she said.

Last week, her younger daughter, Tasnia, also contracted measles. This time, they were able to admit her to Shishu Hospital on Saturday.

“I can’t explain what a difficult time we are going through -- only God knows,” Sonia said.

A bed away, Sania Akhter was helping her mother care for her nine-month-old son, Mahmudullah, from Muksudpur Upazila in Gopalganj.

Mahmudullah was admitted to the same hospital on March 22 with pneumonia and was discharged after recovery.

“He was in good health for only three days after we returned home. This time, he developed a fever again and later contracted measles,” Sania said.

A cannula could not be set in his hands, so it was installed in his upper forehead. “He had to be on oxygen for a day. His condition has improved a little now,” she added.

Measles patients often develop pneumonia and diarrhoea as their immunity declines, said Mirza Md Ziaul Islam, head of the hospital’s paediatrics department.

Hospital-acquired infections also contributed to their condition.

Since January, a total of 209 suspected measles patients have been admitted to their hospital, and alarmingly, 63 of them are under six months old, he said.

The hospital has prepared an 18-bed ICU for measles patients and will expand it if necessary.

“We are providing our best services to save the children,” he told this correspondent.

The hospital recorded four suspected measles deaths so far.

Nazma Begum came out of the Child Ward of the DNCC Dedicated Covid-19 Hospital and walked down the corridor to calm her two-year-old son, Ibrahim, who was crying loudly.

Ibrahim developed symptoms of measles on Friday, and they brought him from Meghna Upazila in Cumilla to Dhaka on Sunday night. After failing to get him admitted to two government hospitals, he was finally admitted here.

“Doctors advised some tests, and we are waiting for the results,” Nazma told this correspondent.

The large Child Ward on the hospital’s first floor was full of children infected with measles, with several doctors and nurses attending to them.

Asif Haider, the hospital’s administrative officer, said they have prepared 300-bed isolation wards for measles patients, including 56 ICU beds.

A total of 290 measles patients were in the hospital yesterday, with 48 of them in the ICU, he said.

Many children are arriving late, already suffering from pneumonia, diarrhoea and encephalitis, which makes treatment difficult.

Most of the children with measles symptoms were unvaccinated, and many are under six months old, Haider said.

The hospital recorded four suspected measles deaths so far.

The 100-bed Infectious Diseases Hospital began struggling with the growing number of measles patients at the beginning of last month and pressure has come down a little lately as other government hospitals were admitting measles patients.

A total of 745 patients received treatment at the hospital since January, with 18 new patients admitted in the last 24 hours, said FA Asma Khan, the newly appointed superintendent of the hospital.

The facility recorded 29 suspected measles deaths, while 15 were confirmed, she said.

In the 24 hours to 8:00am yesterday, ten more died of suspected measles, taking the total number of suspected measles deaths to 128 since March 15, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

Among the 10 new deaths, eight were reported from the Dhaka division, while one each was recorded from the Rajshahi and Sylhet divisions.

Besides, 1,236 new suspected cases were recorded during this period, taking the tally to 9,883 since March 15.

The DGHS, however, said it has confirmed a total of 21 deaths as measles-related, along with 1,398 confirmed cases so far.

Samples from suspected measles patients are tested at reference laboratories in Dhaka, a process that takes considerable time.

Meanwhile, suspected cases are included in the list and confirmed cases are updated later, creating a discrepancy between the two figures.

Besides, rash and fever, the main symptoms of measles, are common to several other diseases, officials said.

Therefore, not all suspected cases are ultimately confirmed, which contributes to the difference between suspected and confirmed deaths, they added.