As Mosammat Mayna steps into the dengue ward at Mugda Hospital in Bangladesh’s capital, sorrow and fear consume her. This 23-year-old has only been employed as a cleaner for a month, and her sister, Maria Ratna, succumbed to dengue while working in the same ward last month. “My sister worked tirelessly during this year’s dengue outbreak and eventually fell ill. When she passed away, the hospital offered me her position,” Mayna recounted. “It was a difficult decision, but I took it because I was unemployed.”
Bangladesh is grappling with its most severe dengue outbreak in history, with overflowing hospitals and a rising death toll. Last week, the country documented the highest number of daily deaths from the mosquito-borne disease – 24 fatalities in a single day. The disease, transmitted by mosquitoes, poses a significant risk to those in close proximity to dengue patients, such as the hospital where Mayna is employed.
Health experts are concerned as dengue typically wanes in South Asia when the annual monsoon rains subside by the end of September. As of Monday, the government’s Directorate General of Health Service (DGHS) reported 1,549 deaths and 301,255 dengue cases in Bangladesh this year. This staggering death toll is approximately five times higher than last year’s count. “I have never witnessed a dengue outbreak of this proportion,” Dr. Mohammed Niatuzzaman, the director of Mugda Hospital, revealed.
The current outbreak is unusually widespread, spreading beyond heavily populated urban centers to rural areas, indicating the severity of the crisis. Patients like Sohaila Begum, who traveled from a rural area to Mugda Hospital, are faced with financial difficulties as they struggle to access proper medical care. The outbreak has put a strain on Bangladesh’s healthcare system and highlighted its limitations. Dr. Mohammad Robed Amin, from DGHS, stated that several factors have contributed to the unusually high number of cases and deaths this year.
Entomologists believe that this year’s record outbreak may be due to the changing pattern of dengue transmission. Professor Kabirul Bashar from Jahangirnagar University noted that climate change has altered the natural breeding and lifecycle of the Aedes mosquito, the vector for dengue. Furthermore, the insecticides used to control mosquito populations have become ineffective due to the mosquitoes’ resistance. A comprehensive five-year plan is essential to address the spread of dengue and ultimately eradicate the vector.
