Hundreds of children have been reported infected amid the measles outbreak, according to information gathered from hospitals in various districts across the country. Media outlets have already reported that several dozen children have died after contracting measles. While the total number of deaths remains unclear, news reports suggest that at least 38 to 100 children have died.

Reports published in different media outlets state that due to shortages of healthcare personnel, vaccine supply constraints, mismanagement, and the inability to conduct special campaigns, a portion of children remain outside vaccination coverage. These reports indicate that a significant share of the infected and deceased children had never received the measles vaccine.

Health Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Hossain has said that a proposal to purchase vaccines worth Tk 604 crore has been approved and that a special vaccination campaign may begin before or after Eid-ul-Azha.

A report published in the daily Jugantor, citing EPI Director Shahriar Sazzad, states that a special measles vaccination campaign is typically conducted every four years. The last such campaign took place in 2020. Due to the country’s situation, it could not be held in 2024. In addition, routine vaccination activities were disrupted three times last year due to a strike by health workers. The suspension of Vitamin A supplementation and deworming programs has also weakened children’s immunity.

Experts are identifying vaccine refusal as a major reason behind the measles outbreak. See here, here, and here.

Data collected by The Dissent from Rajshahi Medical College, Mymensingh Medical College, and the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Mohakhali also show that a large proportion of infected and deceased children had not received the measles vaccine.

Dr. Shahida Yasmin, head of the pediatric department at Rajshahi Medical College, said that more than 1,200 children were admitted with measles between January and March. Of them, only 25 percent had received partial vaccination, while the remaining 75 percent were completely unvaccinated. Among the deceased children, 98 percent had not received any vaccine.

Professor Dr. Jamshed Alam, head of the pediatric department at Mymensingh Medical College, said that 106 children were admitted in the last 11 days of March alone. Nearly 70 percent of the infected children had not received any vaccine. Among the deceased, 100 percent had not received the measles (MR) vaccine.

According to the website of the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Mohakhali, a total of 560 children were infected in the first three months of the year (448 of them in March alone). Among the infected, 60 percent had not received any vaccine. Twenty-one children died at the hospital, more than 95 percent of whom had not been vaccinated.

While experts are identifying the lack of vaccination as a major cause of measles infections, anti-vaccine campaigns are gaining momentum online in Bangladesh. These campaigns rely on conspiracy theories, religious conservatism, and pseudoscience. An investigation by The Dissent found that anti-vaccine propaganda has intensified online in recent months.

Social media flooded with anti-vaccine propaganda

The Dissent’s investigation found that much of the widely circulated content discouraging vaccination on social media in recent times originates from two individuals and a pseudonymous Facebook account. These individuals are corporate sales trainer Rajib Ahmed, Faizul Islam Manik, a scientific officer in the Department of Livestock, and a page named Nayan Chatterjee 8 which has recently found defunct and started the same campaign creating a new page named Nayan Chatterjee 9.

Among them, sales trainer Rajib Ahmed describes himself as a “health researcher.” In addition to selling courses on sales and leadership, he also organizes expensive residential workshops on “health.” Despite claiming to be a health researcher, he has no academic background in the field. His Facebook account has 157,000 followers.

He frequently appears in podcasts on sales and marketing, and his videos receive hundreds of thousands of views online. Alongside discussions on marketing and sales, he regularly speaks out against vaccines and “chemically produced medicines.” Recently, his posts opposing vaccines for typhoid, polio, and cervical cancer have spread widely on social media.

Even after a snakebite, vaccines must not be taken!

When contacted by The Dissent, Rajib said he opposes all types of vaccines. He believes that “anything entering the human body from outside, except what can be taken orally, is haram.”

According to him, “even medicines taken orally must be natural. The medicines available in the market contain alcohol, so it is not permissible to consume any medicine produced by pharmaceutical companies.”

When asked on what basis he gives such religious opinions or whether any Islamic scholar has said this, he replied, “It is stated in the Qur’an.”

When asked where in the Qur’an it is stated, Rajib said, “Read the entire Qur’an with meaning and you will find it. If you had read the Qur’an, you wouldn’t ask such questions.”

Regarding Islamic scholars, he said, “They don’t even have faith. How will they say anything? They don’t believe what they say. I don’t care about any Islamic scholar.”

This reporter asked Rajib about rabies vaccines given after dog bites or antivenom administered after snakebites. He replied, “Even if bitten by a dog or a snake, vaccines must not be given. Drinking honey, lemon juice, and vinegar for three days will cure it. Even snake venom will go away.”

When asked, “If someone dies from a snakebite after following your advice, will you take responsibility?” he said, “Why would anyone die from a snakebite? Can you show me anyone who has died from a snakebite? Whoever is destined to die will die even without a snakebite. Saying such things shows a lack of faith. Honey is a cure for all diseases. It is in the Qur’an.”

When asked where in the Qur’an this is stated, he said, “It is in Surah An-Nahl.”

Surah An-Nahl, verse 69 of the Holy Qur’an mentions honey: “Then eat from all the fruits and follow the ways of your Lord laid down [for you]. There emerges from their bellies a drink, varying in colors, in which there is healing for people. Indeed in that is a sign for people who give thought.”

While the Qur’an mentions the healing properties of honey, it does not state that honey cures all diseases.

In a Facebook post, Rajib wrote, “Those who take paracetamol instead of honey when they fall ill— their faith is not correct.”

In another post, he wrote, “Ensure aqiqah right after birth, no vaccine will be needed!”

In yet another post, he wrote, “If you want to slowly kill someone, inject poison into their body in the name of vaccines. If you cannot fully trust the Creator, take a double dose. If you don’t trust yourself, take a triple dose!”

In another post, he invited people to join a residential workshop in Cox’s Bazar from November 7 to 14 to detoxify the body. Participation in the workshop costs about Tk 25,000 per person.

Recently, Rajib posted a lengthy Facebook post titled “Beware of Mass Vaccination,” which went viral. Thousands of users shared and reposted it.

Government official in anti-vaccine propaganda

Faizul Islam Manik, a scientific officer in the Department of Livestock, regularly writes on social media discouraging vaccination.

He believes that “vaccines cause more harm than benefit. Polio, diphtheria, tuberculosis, whooping cough, hepatitis, smallpox, measles, mumps—these diseases did not decline because of vaccines. Rather, vaccines were introduced after these diseases had already started declining. Even without vaccines, these diseases would have decreased at the same time. The vaccines given to children are unnecessary. Vaccines have caused more harm than good. Safety protocols are not followed in vaccine development and trials, which leads to more vaccine injuries than benefits.”

Faizul also campaigns against the cervical cancer vaccine for women in Bangladesh. When asked about it, he told The Dissent, “Let’s assume it prevents cervical cancer, but is there any proof that it will not trigger 200 other cancers?”

When asked whether there is any evidence that the vaccine triggers other cancers, he said, “There have been no studies on this.”

In a recent Facebook post, Faizul claimed that fear is being spread about measles. He questioned, “If vaccine coverage is low, why would only measles spread? Why not mumps, rubella, whooping cough, tetanus, diphtheria—why not outbreaks of all these diseases? Why only measles?”

What experts say

Calling the overall anti-vaccine campaign “nonsense,” Mohammad Sarwar Hossain, an associate professor at Independent University and a biomedical researcher, said, “There is no room for debate about the invention and benefits of vaccines. The propaganda against vaccines is nonsense. In Western countries, conservatives spread such campaigns. Now it is happening in our country as well. The data on vaccine benefits comes from Europe and America, and their procedures are reliable. The vaccines included in the EPI are important and well-established. There are 30 to 40 years of data showing they are biologically and clinically safe. Child mortality has decreased significantly. Even though the COVID vaccine was less effective, people still took it because it was an emergency. From a religious perspective, there is no barrier to vaccination.”

However, he expressed a different view on the typhoid vaccine used in Bangladesh, saying, “Bacterial vaccines are not immunologically strong. We are not against the typhoid vaccine—those who want can take it. But if 50 million people are being vaccinated, the best-quality vaccine should be used. It is being procured from an Indian company that tested it for only 42 days, whereas it should be 48 months. Europe and America would not allow such vaccines. Typhoid is not such an emergency. Besides, there are antibiotics. Why vaccinate so many people?”

He added, “Just because Gavi or the World Health Organization provides vaccines does not necessarily mean they are reliable; we must see what the American FDA or European agencies say.”

Public health researcher and associate professor at the National University of Singapore, Taufiq Jowardar, said, “Anti-vaccine campaigns largely stem from misconceptions. People spread these without proper knowledge. There is no scope for debate about the benefits of vaccines. There was a campaign against the measles vaccine in the United States as well. But in the end, those who were vaccinated were not harmed, while those who were not suffered.”

He added, “In the current situation, campaigning against the measles vaccine is highly irresponsible. It could lead to severe consequences.”

EPI Director Dr. Shahriar Sazzad described negative anti-vaccine propaganda as a challenge. He told The Dissent, “We see that whenever we try to run a campaign, a specific group starts spreading misinformation and anti-vaccine movements. You noticed this during the PCV campaign, and again during the HPV campaign. To ensure people receive accurate information, we launch awareness efforts across print, electronic media, websites, and Facebook. Now, as we prepare to launch the measles campaign, such propaganda will begin at least two months in advance. We hope you will stand with us.”