Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Husain on Thursday directed hospitals not to discharge dengue patients until they have fully recovered, even if their fever has subsided.
He made the directive while speaking at a ceremony for the handover of microscopes and laboratory equipment to the Department of Pathology at Dhaka Medical College.
The minister said the government has launched initiatives to use new technology to destroy Aedes mosquito larvae and introduced treatment protocols for physicians to strengthen dengue management.
He said the government has been conducting nationwide cleanliness drives for the past two months to control dengue.
Physicians have been provided with training and the highest priority is being given to the treatment of dengue patients.
Referring to the new technology for controlling Aedes mosquitoes, Sakhawat Husain said the government has decided to procure a special medical tablet to destroy mosquito larvae.
He said the tablets can be used in stagnant water collected in small places, coconut shells and discarded tyres, where they will quickly eliminate mosquito larvae.
Highlighting the need for special caution in treating dengue patients, the Health and Family Welfare Minister said many patients die due to plasma leakage.
To address this, he said, a daily treatment protocol has been prepared by a team of specialist physicians and is being distributed to all doctors through their mobile phones and websites.
The minister also said the medical curriculum would be modernised to align with advanced healthcare systems around the world, adding that work in this regard has already begun.
He said Dhaka Medical College had lagged behind advanced healthcare systems over the past 17 years.
He said the Department of Pathology, which forms the foundation of medical diagnosis, had not received any allocation after a government microscope became inoperative three years ago.
The minister said the newly handed-over state-of-the-art microscope, featuring the latest model, would now enable accurate cancer diagnosis in a single sitting, bringing a significant improvement to healthcare services.
Bd-Pratidin English/ AM
