Dengue cases continue as the disease spreads in Bangladesh

DHAKA – The situation of dengue has deteriorated in Bangladesh due to the spread of viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes in most parts of the country in less than a month.

A total of 1,096 new cases of dengue fever were reported Monday in the capital Dhaka and elsewhere in the country in the last 24 hours at 8:00 am local time, Xinhua told Xinhua on Tuesday an official from the control room of the Ministry of Health .

He added that the total number of cases confirmed Monday in the country since 1 January had risen to 13,637, registering a record.

Data provided by the Bangladeshi Ministry of Health has given warning since Dhaka has witnessed a rapid upsurge in the disease.

The number of dengue patients in the first 29 days of July was 11,450, which would have exceeded the total number of patients in the past year.

Ayesha Akhter, Deputy Director of the Health Services Branch (DGHS), told Xinhua that the number of dengue patients was 946 in July last year, indicating that 10,148 people had been infected by dengue in 2018 and that 26 of them died.

Officials said that Dhaka and its neighboring districts are at greater risk of mosquito-borne diseases and that most Dhaka hospitals and clinics are now hosting hundreds of new patients every day.

Eight people have died from dengue fever since the beginning of the year, according to the official records of the Ministry of Health.

Local media, Prothom Alo, reported Tuesday that the death toll was 47, saying the disease has spread to 59 of the 64 districts.

Another local media source, Somoy TV, reported on Tuesday that four people diagnosed with dengue died in hospitals in Dhaka and the town of Barisal, southwest, some 180 km south of Dhaka.

The Minister of Health and Family, Zahid Malik, said at a press conference that the government had taken action.

The minister has asked all corporations and municipalities in the city to take the necessary measures to destroy Aedes mosquito breeding grounds.

Dengue is transmitted by several species of mosquitoes of the genus Aedes. The first case of mosquito-borne viral infection was reported in Bangladesh in 2000 and about 100 people died between 2000 and 2003.

Impoverished states are particularly vulnerable to viruses because of insufficient biosecurity, inadequate disease surveillance, and protective measures.

The monsoon period from June to September is generally the peak season for dengue fever in Bangladesh and transmission in the country.