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Bangladesh is facing the worst ever dengue fever outbreak in the country, officials said yesterday, with overcrowded hospitals and social media flooded with requests for donated blood.
Eight people died and 13,637 cases of this disease were recorded this year, with nearly 1,100 people – most of them children – diagnosed in the past 24 hours, according to official figures.
"This number is the highest since we began keeping a record of dengue patients almost two decades ago," said Ayesha Akter, head of the Ministry of Health.
Local media reported that the number of victims could be much higher and the newspaper Amader Shomoy announced that at least 30 people had died of dengue fever this year.
The capital, Dhaka, is the most affected. The city has launched a fumigation campaign to kill the Aedes mosquito, capable of spreading devastating diseases such as dengue, zika and chikungunya.
Dengue, which causes flu-like symptoms, can be fatal if it turns into hemorrhagic fever. According to the World Health Organization, there is no vaccine or specific drug to treat dengue fever.
An AFP correspondent visited the main hospitals in Dhaka and saw patients lying on the floor and in the corridors while waiting for treatment.
Last month, the country's largest hospital, Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), treated some 1,858 dengue patients, according to AK M Nasir Uddin, general manager.
"We have opened a special corner for dengue patients," he said.
Doctors worked overtime to cope with the large number of patients.
"Our facilities are overloaded and outdated. We are struggling to cope, "said a doctor at Mitford Hospital in Dhaka.
It has been reported that blood banks are struggling to meet the needs of critically ill patients, and calls for blood have been made to social media sites such as Facebook.
One mother said she worried about her sick, four-year-old daughter.
"The doctors did everything they could. All I do now is call Allah for help, "said Nasima Khatun.
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