Dengue in Bangladesh: Nearly 2800 cases in first 16 days of July

The numbers of dengue fever cases in Bangladesh started rising rapidly in June; however, since July 1 through July 16, 2,767 cases have been recorded with hundreds of cases added daily.

Since the beginning of the year, 4,852 dengue cases have been reported in the country, reports newstoday.

According to officials with the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) under the Ministry of Health, three people have died in Bangladesh due to dengue fever since January.

The outbreak in peaking earlier than last year. In 2018, the number of dengue patients was nearly a quarter of this year at 1,374 during the January–July period.

The June-September monsoon period is usually the peak season of dengue fever in Bangladesh and transmission becomes rampant in the country which is considered a high-risk nation with respect to mosquito-borne diseases.

Dengue is a viral infection transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito. There are four closely related but antigenically different serotypes of the virus that can cause dengue (DEN1, DEN 2, DEN 3, DEN 4).
  
Dengue Fever (DF) – marked by an onset of sudden high fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, and pain in muscles and joints. Some may also have a rash and varying degree of bleeding from various parts of the body (including nose, mouth and gums or skin bruising).Dengue has a wide spectrum of infection outcome (asymptomatic to symptomatic). Symptomatic illness can vary from dengue fever (DF) to the more serious dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF).

Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) – is a more severe form, seen only in a small proportion of those infected. DHF is a stereotypic illness characterized by 3 phases; febrile phase with high continuous fever usually lasting for less than 7 days; critical phase (plasma leaking) lasting 1-2 days usually apparent when fever comes down, leading to shock if not detected and treated early; convalescence phase lasting 2-5 days with improvement of appetite, bradycardia (slow heart rate), convalescent rash (white patches in red background), often accompanied by generalized itching (more intense in palms and soles), and diuresis (increase urine output).

Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS) — Shock syndrome is a dangerous complication of dengue infection and is associated with high mortality. Severe dengue occurs as a result of secondary infection with a different virus serotype. Increased vascular permeability, together with myocardial dysfunction and dehydration, contribute to the development of shock, with resultant multiorgan failure.