Bangladesh’s worst dengue outbreak on record has claimed over 1,000 lives this year, according to official data. Hospitals are struggling to accommodate patients as the disease spreads rapidly in the densely-populated country.
The data shows that 1,017 people have died and nearly 209,000 have been infected in 2023, making it the deadliest year since the first recorded epidemic in 2000.
The current death toll is almost four times higher than last year, which saw 281 dengue-related deaths in Bangladesh.
Hospitals are grappling with a high number of patients experiencing symptoms such as high fever, joint pain, and vomiting. Additionally, there is a shortage of intravenous fluids, according to health officials.
“I don’t know how my son got infected… suddenly, he developed a fever. I immediately brought him here and doctors diagnosed him with dengue,” said Sanwar Hossain to Reuters as he watched his son at Mugda General Hospital in the capital city of Dhaka.
DENGUE OUTBREAK SURGES IN BANGLADESH, RAISING ALARM OVER RECORD DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
The hospital’s administrator, Niatuzzaman, expressed concern over the increasing number of patients admitted from rural areas of the country, even though the number of patients from Dhaka has decreased in recent days.
Dengue does not have a specific vaccine or treatment, and it is common in South Asia during the monsoon season from June to September. The disease is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which thrives in stagnant water.
A nurse administers treatment to a patient with dengue at Dhaka’s Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital on July 26, 2023. (REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain/File photo)
Entomologists and epidemiologists attribute the surge in dengue cases to rising temperatures and longer monsoon seasons, creating favorable conditions for mosquito breeding.
The government has intensified its efforts to combat dengue, including raising awareness and taking measures to eliminate mosquito larvae after heavy rainfall, according to officials.
However, a lack of effective prevention measures has allowed dengue-carrying mosquitoes to spread throughout Bangladesh, warns Kabirul Bashar, an entomologist and zoology professor at Jahangirnagar University.
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“From 2000 to 2018, dengue was only occurring in Dhaka city, but in 2019 it spread to different cities. This year, it has also reached rural areas.”
Renowned Bangladeshi physician ABM Abdullah told Reuters that early detection and access to proper medical care can reduce the death rate to less than 1%.
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