Elimination of measles from Bangladesh: Progression and Challenges ahead

Measles, a highly communicable disease, is one of the leading causes of death among young children globally. Despite the availability of safe and effective vaccines, it has been an issue of concern. Approximately, 134,200 people died globally from measles in 2015 of which most of them were children under the age of 5 [1]. Measures to control measles first started in 1980 after the eradication of small pox [2,3]. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) set a priority for eradication of poliomyelitis than that of measles. In 2000, the issue of eliminating measles was revisited again when the polio cases had decreased. Since then WHO has been setting targets to counter act the consequences of measles related morbidity and mortality [2].Elimination of measles from a country means the absence of endemic measles cases for a period of ≥12 months in the presence of a high-quality epidemiological surveillance (that is sensitive and specific enough to detect imported and importrelated cases), which is supported by a laboratory network [4].