Dhaka, Sept. 11 -- or most public health experts working in or on Bangladesh, the summer has been a slowburn nightmare that at times appeared hesitant, even tenuous. But then something seemingly changed last month - yes, in August - and the perfect health crisis, or nightmare, no longer seems avoidable from where we now stand, a third of the way through September.

In case you haven't guessed it yet, that nightmare health crisis given the public health system in Bangladesh, consists of measles cases and deaths remaining high while dengue hospitalisations surge, putting additional pressure on hospitals already struggling with a heavy patient load.

As of the first week of September, nearly 8,000 patients with dengue or measles were being ...