Dengue situation turns worse

Intermittent and a scanty amount of rainfall during the ongoing monsoon serves a warning sign for all to stay even more vigilant than in previous years against sharply rising dengue infections in the capital.

In Dhaka, the dengue situation went worse in June -- the onset of monsoon, as the number of patients diagnosed with the insect-borne viral infections more than tripled than it was during the same period last year.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the number of dengue patients hospitalised in June in the city was around one thousand. Only last day of the month, around 300 were admitted to hospitals, a corresponding number of dengue patients throughout the whole June in 2018.

Until June 2019, 1,714 people have been diagnosed with dengue, among whom two died in April last. However, no dengue case was reported so far from outside the capital, confirmed the DGHS. Last year, a record number of 10,148 were infected with the disease, while 26 died. The previous highest was 6,232 in 2002.

Health experts attributed water stagnation due to yearlong construction works, less and irregular rain owing to changes in weather pattern, and lack of sanitation among people to the main reasons of increasing dengue cases in the capital.

Besides, according to them, treatment for dengue is more difficult now as the disease has transformed itself into type-3, more complicated than its earlier versions.

“Due to less and uneven rain, water easily stagnates to assist the breeding of Aedes mosquito [vector of dengue] to a great extent, thus increasing dengue infections,” said Professor Dr Meerzadi Sabrina Flora, director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research.

Last month, the capital witnessed 272.5 millimetre (mm) rainfall, against a met office forecast of 356mm, a 23.5 percent less than the normal scenario during beginning of monsoon last year, according to meteorologist Shahinul Islam.