Bangladesh sees sevenfold rise in dengue cases in May

The number of dengue patients has increased more than seven times in a span of one month before the beginning of the monsoon, the breeding season of the Aedes mosquito.

In April this year, 143 dengue patients were hospitalised across the country and two of them died. The number of patients increased to 1,036 in May. More than half of the total five months' dengue cases were reported in May.

Alongside monthly jumps in dengue cases, this year has also broken all records in both the number of cases and deaths compared to the same period in previous years.

The country's highest number of dengue cases was 324 and the death toll was two until May in previous years. However, 2,022 dengue patients were hospitalised across the country until 31 May this year and 13 people died.

Experts say the dengue situation in the country may be worse than the previous years. The city authorities do not have adequate Aedes mosquito control activities throughout the year. Aedes larvae were found in the water accumulated in the parking areas of multi-storey buildings, under-construction buildings, roof gardens, and houses that have no connection to rainwater.

68% of dengue patients are from the capital Dhaka. Some 1,378 dengue patients were admitted to Dhaka hospitals until May while 644 people were admitted to different hospitals in the country outside of Dhaka, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

Meanwhile, the dengue has spread to 41 districts of the country. Chattogram is in the most dangerous situation after Dhaka. This year, 10 dengue patients died in Dhaka and the remaining three in Chattogram.

Among the districts, dengue spread to 11 districts of Dhaka division and 9 districts in Chattogram division, five districts of Barisal division, two districts of Mymensingh division, eight districts of Khulna, three districts of Rajshahi, two districts of Rangpur and one district in Sylhet.

Generally, June-September is the season of dengue as rainwater accumulates here and there.  So, this period is considered as Aedes mosquitoes' breeding season. However, this year, dengue cases rise across the country before monsoon.

Health officials and entomologists are worried about how the situation might be in the aforesaid period.

Jahangirnagar University zoology dept professor Entomologist Kabirul Bashar told TBS, Dengue cases usually rise in August-September, but the way it has increased in May this year is definitely a matter of concern. Dengue is likely to spread to the rest of the country from Dhaka on a large scale during the Eid-ul-Azha.

As per the city authorities and DGHS, they are taking mosquito extermination activities, but no positive outcomes. Quick measures should be taken to y kill mosquitoes, larvae by identifying hotspots, and people should be aware, he added.

Prof Dr Be-Nazir Ahmed, former director of Communicable Disease Control at the Directorate of Health told TBS, "We have a history of eradicating various epidemics but in the last 23 years, we have been far from controlling dengue. For that, we need enough entomologists and research on it."

As the city corporations and other authorities failed to control Aedes, dengue cases may spread on a large scale in the country, the expert also said.

While addressing a programme in Cox's Bazar on Tuesday, health minister Zahid Maleque said, "Separate wards for dengue patients remain in every hospital of the country as dengue outbreaks occur all over the country. We had arranged training for physicians and nurses to provide proper treatment to patients."

Moreover, the health directorate was instructed to take measures to prevent the spread of dengue cases, he added.

According to Dhaka South City Corporation, 348 dengue cases were reported in the city until 30 May, which was 17.54% of the total patients of this month.

Dhaka South mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh said applying pesticides alone is not enough to deal with the dengue menace.  Social resistance should also be developed to tackle this.

"As per the experts of the pesticide committee of the city corporations, we imported and stored adequate pesticides for the whole year. So, there is no worry about the mosquito extermination drives."

While inspecting a mosquito extermination drive on Wednesday, Dhaka North mayor Atiqul Islam urged all to work unitedly to reduce culex, aedes mosquitos. All have to be aware of the dengue menace.  

"If we find accumulated water in under-construction buildings we will slap a fine."

According to DGHS, Bangladesh had the highest number of dengue cases in 2019. The number exceeded 100,000 and 179 people died that year. However, the number of deaths exceeded all other years in 2022. About 62,000 people were infected and 281 people died.