The highest number of people have been affected by dengue in Brazil this year. Bangladesh recorded the highest number of deaths due to dengue, and the death rate in Bangladesh is also the highest in the world.
This information was revealed in dengue data from international organisations such as Doctors Without Borders, the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC), and the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) of Bangladesh.
Dengue outbreaks are high this year, as usual, in some South American countries. The ECDC released a list of the 10 countries with the highest number of dengue infections on 2 October, and 7 of them are in South America. These include Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Colombia. The remaining three countries on the list are from Asia, namely Bangladesh, India, and the Philippines.
Dengue infections and dengue-related deaths in Bangladesh have shattered all previous records. The dengue season is still ongoing, and the World Bank has expressed concerns about its continuation for the next two to three months. In other words, World Bank officials fear that there may be a dengue outbreak even in December, during the winter. However, some public health experts anticipate a significant drop in dengue infections by mid-November, leading to a reduction in fatalities.
Mushtuq Hosain, Consultant and Public Health Officer at the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control, and Research (IEDCR), informed Prothom Alo that no other country in the world has witnessed as many dengue-related deaths as Bangladesh. When reviewing global statistics, it becomes evident that this year alone, Bangladesh has surpassed 1000 dengue-related deaths. The issue is that the dengue season continues in Bangladesh while it has ended in many other countries.
Brazil and Bangladesh
The number of dengue cases in Brazil has remained high since the beginning of this year. This correspondent from Prothom Alo contacted the Ministry of Health and Doctors Without Borders in Brazil to gather information about the dengue situation in the country.
Citing the Ministry of Health of Brazil, Doctors Without Borders informed Prothom Alo on Wednesday that the Ministry of Health of Brazil had stopped publishing information on dengue since 21 August. Up to that date this year, 1.52 million people were infected with dengue in Brazil, and among them, 920 people died.
According to a press release issued by the Health Emergency Operation Centre and Control Room of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) on Thursday, 2,327 new dengue patients were admitted to the hospital in the past 24 hours (from Wednesday 8:00 am to Thursday 8:00 am) in Bangladesh. With this, the total number of patients admitted to hospitals in the country has reached 233,531.
However, many more people with dengue have received or are receiving treatment at home instead of being admitted to the hospital. The exact number is unknown, and there have been no attempts by the government to record them.
On the other hand, the control room has reported the deaths of 13 more people in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths due to dengue in the country this year to 1,135.
The dengue season in Brazil typically starts in March and ends in June, during which dengue incidence and mortality decrease as August approaches.
Professor Tahmina Shirin, the Director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), told Prothom Alo that the dengue season in Bangladesh usually spans from May to September. However, there was also an outbreak of dengue in October last year. This year, the dengue season is prolonging, indicating an extension beyond the typical timeframe.
Death rate high in Bangladesh
Following Brazil, the South American country Peru has seen a high number of dengue infections. According to the latest data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), 183,377 people have been diagnosed with dengue in the country this year, and among them, 424 people have died, resulting in a mortality rate of 0.2 per cent.
In Argentina, 122,607 people have been diagnosed with dengue, and 65 people have died. The death rate in the country is 0.05 per cent. Bolivia, on the other hand, has a higher death toll compared to Argentina. So far, 22,938 people have been affected in the country, and 83 people have died, resulting in a mortality rate of 0.4 per cent.
According to data from India's National Centre for Vector-Borne Diseases Control, 94,198 people have been diagnosed with dengue in the country. Among them, 91 people have died, resulting in a dengue mortality rate of 0.1 per cent.
The number of dengue cases in Brazil is higher than in all other countries in the world, with 920 reported deaths, giving a mortality rate of 0.06 per cent. According to government data, the death rate in Bangladesh is 0.5 per cent. This means that for every 200 patients admitted to the hospital, one of them dies. Public health specialist Mushtuq Hosain stated that such a high death rate is not observed in any other country in the world.