Dengue under ‘medium control’, 650 patients still admitted daily

Around 650 dengue patients are being admitted per day to hospitals around the country, while the government’s disease control division claims that the situation is under ‘medium control’.

At the regular press briefing of the health directorate on Sunday, director of the disease control division Sania Tahmina said that the number of patients was fluctuating. However, she said, they hoped the number of new patients would decrease shortly.

In the past years, the number of dengue patients increased in September. Last year, 10,148 dengue patients were admitted to hospital. In September this year, over 650 patients are being admitted per day.

Responding to a question regarding the matter, the disease control division director said that the target they had set had been reached.

Sania Tahmina went on to say that there would be no drastic reduction in the number of dengue patients immediately, but there was no reason to fear that the situation would be as bad as in August.

Last August 50,974 dengue patients were admitted to hospitals in the country. This was more than the total number of dengue patients admitted to hospitals in Bangladesh over the past 19 years.

According to the health directorate’s Health Emergency Operation Centre and Control Room, on Sunday 761 dengue patients were admitted to hospitals in Dhaka and the rest of the country. This was 154 more patients than the previous day.

Presently more patients are being affected outside of Dhaka. On Sunday, 313 dengue patients were admitted to hospitals in Dhaka, with 447 being admitted to hospitals in other districts. The highest number of patients was admitted in Jashore on Sunday. There were 58 patients admitted to hospitals in the district on the day, amounting to 6 more than admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital on Sunday.

The country’s first and only liver transplant patient at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Siratul Islam, died of dengue. The hospital authorities said he had been admitted to hospital with dengue and was under treatment in the intensive care unit. He died on Eid day.

Asaduzzaman (37) from Magura, died of dengue on Sunday at Khulna Medical College Hospital, affirmed the Khulna civil surgeon ASM Abdur Razzak.

Prothom Alo investigations have so far revealed 207 dengue related deaths. These figures are based on statements made by the families of the patients and hospital authorities.