Dengue cases nearing 100,000 mark
“It is not immediately clear when the dengue menace will stop this year,” Dr Shahadat, director at DGHS, says
Bangladesh witnessed a grim escalation in the dengue crisis with ten more people dying of the viral disease and 2,134 hospitalisations across the country in the last 24 hours till Sunday morning.
This surge has pushed the total number of cases close to the 1 lakh mark, raising concerns about the relentless spread of this mosquito-borne illness.
Comparatively, the highest number of dengue cases ever was recorded in 2019, with a reported count of 101,354.
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With the latest figure, this year witnessed the demise of 476 dengue patients, while 99,994 individuals have been hospitalised, according to data released by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Amidst the number of dengue cases and deaths increasing every day in the country, the DGHS underlined the inherent uncertainty surrounding the trajectory of this year's dengue crisis.
At a virtual briefing in the city on Sunday, Prof Dr Shahadat Hossain, the Director of Management Information System (MIS) at DGHS, said "We have seen that any "pandemic" starts at a specific time and ends at a specific destination. However, it is not immediately clear when the dengue menace will stop this year."
He also highlighted that during the 29th and 30th weeks of the dengue season, the most substantial surge in dengue cases was reported in the two Dhaka city corporations. Subsequently, the number of dengue patients in the capital started to decline. On the contrary, the 31st and 32nd weeks observed a surge in cases outside Dhaka.
Shockingly, an alarming gender discrepancy has also been observed in dengue statistics. In the past week alone, 46 out of 59 reported deaths due to dengue were among women.
Dr Shahadat stressed the importance of providing heightened care to women afflicted by the disease.
Of the new cases, 785 were reported in Dhaka city and 1,349 were from various parts of the country.
A total of 7,582 dengue patients, including 3,532 in Dhaka, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country, shows the DGHS data. So far 91,936 dengue patients were discharged from hospitals in the country this year.
Dhaka and Chattogram divisions have reported the highest number of dengue cases.
The country recorded 281 dengue deaths in 2022, the highest on record after the 179 deaths recorded in 2019.
