Dengue fever creates health emergency in Bangladesh as deaths surpass 300

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Dengue fever has become a public health emergency in Bangladesh, with 10 new casualties Saturday taking the death toll to 303, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

Dengue, also called break-bone fever, is a viral infection that spreads from mosquitoes to people. It has spread to all districts of the country.

Bangladesh has already broken all previous records since 2000, the year records on the fever began in Bangladesh, according to health authorities. Last year, 281 people died from dengue, the highest number ever recorded in any nation, said DGHS.

Total hospitalization reached 63,968 with 2,495 new hospitalizations, it said.

Deaths are mostly in the capital, Dhaka. Of the 303 total, 241 were from Dhaka alone, said DGHS.

The situation continues to worsen with four left in 2023, and experts fear the situation is not likely to improve until December.

Mushtaq Hussain, a virologist and advisor to the state-run Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), told Anadolu that the situation has become a public health emergency.

He suggested the government dedicate a separate institution like IEDCR, or introduce a new one to deal with the situation in a coordinated and integrated manner.