The death toll from the mosquito-borne disease in Bangladesh rose to 804 this year as 14 more patients died in last 24 hours till Saturday morning.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), during the period, 2,598 more patients were hospitalised with the viral fever in the country.
DGHS said, of the new patients, 881 were admitted to hospitals in Dhaka and the rest outside the capital–indicating a worsening situation across the country.
A total of 10,330 dengue patients, including 4,208 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country. The DGHS has, so far, recorded 1,64,562 dengue cases, 153,428 recoveries this year.
It also added that Bangladesh recorded 179 dengue related deaths in 2019, seven deaths in 2020, 105 deaths in 2021 and 281 deaths, the second highest deaths, in 2022. Meanwhile, experts said that dengue positive cases have increased ten times and death three times between mid September, 2022 and mid-September, 2023.
They said there are unplanned urbanization, industrialization and ancillary activities such as construction of multi-storied buildings blocking waterways, dumping old cars, turning cities into mosquito sanctuaries.
The government has launched initiatives to limit the spread of mosquito-borne diseases, from awareness campaigns to efforts to kill mosquito larvae.
There is no vaccine or drug that specifically treats dengue, which is common in South Asia during the June-to-September monsoon season when the Aedes aegypti mosquito that spreads the deadly virus thrives in stagnant water.
