More than 1, 460 people have lost their lives so far this year, surpassing all records of dengue cases and deaths in the country and still people are suffering from this viral fever at the end of the season.
Professor Dr Kabirul Bashar, Zoology department of Jahangirnagar University said, “The number of dengue cases and deaths has reached the highest in Bangladesh's history. Since dengue was identified in Bangladesh from 2000 to 2022, a total of 853 people died and 1,460 people died this year. The number of infected is much higher than the official estimate.”
“Beyond Dhaka city, dengue has now established a strong foothold in 64 districts of the country. Dengue has spread to rural areas outside the city. The results I got while researching the dengue carriers in different villages of the country is ‘scary’. My field level research results say we have to live with dengue. As long as we cannot give dengue vaccine to everyone, it will be difficult to get rid of dengue.”
“Local Government Ministries (Unions, Upazilas, District Councils and Municipalities) should be modernized for mosquito control. They should be trained in dengue control and provided with fogging machines and spray machines to apply insecticides,” he said.
“The field administration of the Ministry of Local Government should be instructed to carry out regular activities in dengue control. If the rain stops completely, the dengue outbreak will decrease. However, dengue will be present throughout the year in the country. Aedes mosquitoes will breed all year round in containers where water accumulates in addition to rain or where citizens store water,” Professor Dr Kabirul Bashar said.
“To get rid of dengue, everyone should ensure that there is no standing water in their house and yard,” he added.
According to the sources of the Department of Health, 2 lakh 88 thousand 572 people have been admitted to the hospital due to dengue this year. Out of this, 1 lakh 2 thousand 889 people have been admitted to hospital in Dhaka. 1 lakh 85 thousand 683 people were admitted to hospitals outside Dhaka.
1, 460 people have lost their lives so far. Many patients have received treatment from home. The government does not have this account. So the actual number of dengue cases is much more. Several times more patients are being admitted to hospital with dengue than in other district cities.
Professor Md Nazmul Islam, Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said, “Dengue deaths are increasing due to several reasons. Many patients come to the hospital late. By then the situation had worsened. The condition of the patient is getting more complicated due to the second or third attack. It is another cause of death.”
“The number of dengue deaths is expected to increase next year. Because this year more than 2 lakh 80 thousand people have already been affected. If these patients are infected a second or third time, the danger will increase. If you want to reduce the number of patients, you should emphasize on killing mosquitoes. Dengue cannot be prevented unless the Aedes mosquito is controlled,” he added.
Dengue was first detected in Bangladesh in 1965. The disease was then known as Dhaka fever. But since 2000, the incidence of the disease started increasing. In 2022, the dengue situation was worse. The highest number of deaths in the country was 281 in that year. This was the highest loss of life at that time.
(The report was published on print and online versions of The Bangladesh Pratidin on November 11 and rewritten in English by Tanvir Raihan)
