36 more dengue cases reported in 24 hrs

Thirty-six new dengue patients were hospitalised in 24 hours till Monday morning as cases are rising in Bangladesh, reports news agency UNB.

Among them, 31 patients were hospitalised in Dhaka while the remaining five patients in other districts, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

The dengue cases are rising in the capital allegedly due to insufficient measures taken by the two Dhaka city corporations (DSCC and DNCC) in preventing mosquito-borne diseases like dengue.

As many as 144 dengue patients, including 125 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.

On 21 June, the DGHS reported the first death of the season from the mosquito-borne viral disease.

This year, the DGHS has recorded 1,238 dengue cases and 1,093 recoveries so far.

Dengue – a leading cause of serious illness and death in some Asian and Latin American countries – was first reported in Bangladesh in 2000 and claimed 93 lives. In the three following years, the fatality number almost fell to zero.

However, 105 dengue patients, including 95 in Dhaka division, died in 2021.

Dengue is found in tropical and sub-tropical climates worldwide, mostly in urban and semi-urban areas.

About 4 billion people, almost half of the world's population, live in areas with a risk of dengue, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Each year, up to 400 million people get infected with dengue while approximately 100 million get sick from infection, and 40,000 die from severe dengue, it says.

“There is no specific treatment for dengue or severe dengue. Early detection of disease progression associated with severe dengue, and access to proper medical care lowers fatality rates of severe dengue to below 1 per cent,” according to the World Health Organisation.