Dengue outbreak: Six more join procession of death

At least six people, including a child, died of dengue fever in hospitals in Dhaka, Rangpur, and Dinajpur on Tuesday.

One individual died at Mugda Medical College and Hospital in Dhaka on Monday, followed by three more deaths at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) on Tuesday. The deceased are: Monwara Begum, Amzad Hossain, Habibur Rahman, and Md Hanif.

Dr Nasir Uddin, Assistant Director of DMCH, confirmed the death of Monwara Begum to The Business Standard, saying that her body was handed over to her family.

Professor Dr Rubina Yasmin, head of the department of medicine at Mugda Medical College Hospital, told The Business Standard that condition of Hanif has been deteriorating over the last four days.

Dr Nasir said, the number of patients admitted to DMCH in the last 24 hours stands at 283, which is more than the number of patients who had been admitted during the previous two days. Presently, 680 dengue patients are receiving treatment at the hospital.

Riana, a three-year-old girl and a resident of Palashbari Upazila in Gaibandha district, died of dengue at Rangpur Medical College Hospital (RMC) on Tuesday morning.

Riana was diagnosed with dengue on August 2 at a hospital in Dhaka, said Dr Saiduzzaman, as representative of the “specialist doctors’ team” at RMC.

Her family moved to Rangpur the next day, subsequently admitting her to RMC. Riana was undergoing treatment at the hospital for the last four days. “The girl took her last breath early Tuesday morning, said Dr Saiduzzaman, adding that she was also suffering from Pneumonia.

Rabiul Islam, a youth, died of dengue at Dinajpur M Abdur Rahim Medical College Hospital in Dinajpur in the early morning on Tuesday. Dr Khairul Kabir, director at the hospital, confirmed Rabiul's death to The Business Standard. Rabiul was a resident of Chinirbandar Upazila of Dinajpur district. 

According to the ‘health directorate’, 18 people died of dengue from January 1 till last Monday.

Unofficial sources and media reports, however, said the death toll already exceeded 70.