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The authorities and the parents had no other choice but to arrange the place for the baby on the floor as the 100-bed specialised facility had already been overwhelmed with a surge of child measles patients from across the country.

“There was no vacant seat, so we had to make the bed on the floor,” Tariqul’s mother Takmina Begum said quietly.

Eight‑month‑old Yasin’s journey was no easier. Doctors at Gazipur Sadar Hospital referred him to Dhaka after he received treatment for three days there.

His family tried three hospitals in the capital, including Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute, before finally finding space on a mattress near the fifth floor staircase of the Infectious Disease Hospital on Saturday.

“We tried everywhere, but there was no seat,” said his grandmother Rehana Begum.

Doctors said many children like Tariqul and Yasin are being brought to Dhaka, often in critical condition, after days of treatment at upazila or district hospitals.

The long journeys worsen their health, while the capital’s hospitals buckle under the pressure, recording higher numbers of admissions and deaths.

The numbers tell the scale. Across the nation, 409 patients died from measles or measles-like symptoms, mostly among children, between March 15 and yesterday. Not all the patients’ diagnoses could be confirmed due to a lack of testing kits.

Just three major facilities in the capital reported at least 91 of these deaths. The Infectious Diseases Hospital alone saw 42, the Shishu Hospital 28 and the DNCC Dedicated Covid‑19 Hospital recorded 21 other deaths.

These were among the 179, or 44 percent of the total, in Dhaka division.

The Infectious Diseases Hospital was treating 57 measles patients yesterday. The rest of the beds were being used to treat patients suffering from other diseases, particularly from chicken pox and HIV/AIDS.

“Most of the children we receive now come from outside Dhaka, often after treatment at multiple hospitals. They arrive in critical condition, making our task difficult,” said the hospital’s Superintendent FA Asma Khan.

The DNCC Dedicated Covid‑19 Hospital admitted 132 measles patients in the 24 hours to 9:00am yesterday.

Seventy-three percent of them were from outside the city, according to the hospital’s Administrative Officer Asif Haider.

“Dhaka’s vaccination campaign began on April 12, earlier than the rest of the country, which may explain why fewer city children are arriving,” he said.

The Shishu Hospital had never before faced such a situation surrounding the highly infectious disease, said Prof Mirza Md Ziaul Islam, head of paediatric infectious diseases at the facility. It had 85 measles patients yesterday.

Disruptions in regular and special vaccination drives caused by the interim government’s decision to change vaccine purchase systems are being blamed for the situation. The current government is conducting emergency vaccination drives to tackle the situation.

Prof Mirza said some patients are arriving with very severe and complicated conditions from the peripheral-level hospitals. Many of these facilities are referring the patients to Dhaka because they are not adequately prepared to manage such complications, Prof Mirza said.

“Doctors at these facilities need to be provided with necessary training quickly and on a mass scale to cope up with the situation,” he added.

An official at the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said many upazila- and district-level hospitals do not have the necessary number of specialists to treat critical patients, so these facilities refer such patients to Dhaka.

The official, on condition of anonymity, added that in fear of possible repercussions in case of deaths, many doctors prefer to refer patients to Dhaka hospitals even when their condition does not warrant transfer.

Moreover, none of the upazila health complexes have ICU facilities. Even the government hospitals in around 20 districts do not have any ICUs, leaving little scope for doctors to manage critical cases, the official added.

Contacted, Abu Hussain Md Moinul Ahsan, director (hospital) of DGHS, said many parents are also taking their children to Dhaka hospitals due to panic over the situation.

Replying to a question, he said a meeting will be held today with all directors and heads of paediatric departments of government medical college hospitals to discuss relevant issues, including referrals and training.

“Some new decisions may be taken there,” he told The Daily Star.