Dengue takes hold; 21 cases reported in 24 hrs

The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) reported 21 more dengue cases across the country in the past 24 hours till Sunday morning, raising concerns among doctors and patients.

Currently, 86 patients are there in hospitals with dengue fever throughout Bangladesh and 68 of them receiving treatment in hospitals in Dhaka alone, said the DGHS.

It confirmed 1,155 dengue cases since January this year and 1,062 have recovered by the time. Bangladesh is seeing a gradual rise in the mosquito-borne dengue cases in November as the country continues to grapple with the Covid-19 pandemic.

The situation this year is still much better compared to 2019 when the country saw a massive outbreak of dengue that pushed the healthcare system to its limits.

According to official figures, 101,354 dengue cases were recorded with the mosquito-borne disease killing 179 people.

As Bangladesh keeps reporting new Coronavirus cases every day, doctors feared that the country’s health sector may face an unprecedented impact if there is any dengue outbreak.

Dr Edward Pallab Rozario, head of health programmes at Caritas Bangladesh, earlier told UNB that dengue and coronavirus (COVID-19) cases occurring simultaneously will create a situation in the country which will be very difficult for the government to handle it alone.

source: UNB