Doctors for declaring dengue a public health emergency, DGHS says ‘not yet’

As the country's dengue situation continues to deteriorate, physicians have called upon the government to declare the outbreak a "public health emergency" but the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) does not want to make that call yet.

At the scientific seminar on dengue prevention at Mugda Medical College Hospital in Dhaka on Sunday, Expert doctors and leaders of the Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) said the country's dengue outbreak situation has hit the level of public health emergency as new infections and deaths are increasing daily while hospitals are struggling to cope with patients.

Following the BMA seminar, the DGHS held a virtual press conference where the Director General of the DGHS Professor Dr ABM Khurshid Alam said, "The time to declare a public health emergency over the dengue situation has not yet arrived, but the country will face a health crisis if the number of dengue patients increases further."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare through a notification yesterday issued five guidelines for raising awareness against the ongoing dengue situation in the country, which include consulting a doctor even if the dengue fever subsides so that further complications can be avoided.

At the BMA seminar, two papers were presented. 

Presenting the first article, Dr M Mushtaq Hussain, a member of the Central Executive Committee of BMA and adviser of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), said, "Unplanned urbanisation, dense settlements, an unsanitary environment in villages and towns have worsened the dengue situation. People are being infected by all four types of dengue virus now, which is a cause of national concern."

When contacted, Dr M Mushtaq Hussain told The Business Standard, "A public health emergency occurs when there is no room in hospitals to deal with patients. If we prepare ahead of time then there will be no such situation. The DGHS has taken initiatives [such as 24 hours control room and dengue corner in all hospitals] for a public health emergency without officially declaring it. Now the Ministry of Local Government and City Corporations should be more active in killing mosquitoes."

Renowned Rheumatologist and Chairman of the Medical Journal at BMA Professor Syed Atiqul Haque presented the second paper in the seminar. He said doctors should follow protocol while treating dengue patients.

As the seminar's chief guest, BMA President and Awami League Presidium Member Mustafa Jalal Mohiuddin said, "Senior doctors should give more time to dengue patients. In addition, the government, the Ministry of Health and the DGHS should be more active and vocal about dengue prevention."

What did the DGHS say?

At the press conference, DGHS Director General Professor Dr ABM Khurshid Alam said Mugda Medical College Hospital treats the highest number of dengue patients in Dhaka. It has 500 beds for all patients but about 600 dengue patients are currently admitted there, which shows the severity of the situation.

"We have arranged some extra beds at Mugda Hospital. We are trying to provide the best possible treatment to patients," Khurshid Alam said, adding that the number of dengue patients is high in the surrounding areas of the Hospital such as Shanir Akhra, Jatrabari, Sabujbagh, Kadamtali, Basabo, Mugda and Rampura. 

The DGHS director general said, "The dengue outbreak is increasing at an alarming rate in the country. We are providing as much medical care as possible. But if the number of daily cases increases further, we will fall into a crisis. However, we do not have any crisis in providing treatment to dengue patients."

"Monsoon has started late this year, so there is a fear that the dengue season might be prolonged. We have taken measures to solve the shortage of manpower in the hospitals for dengue treatment. All the government hospitals in the capital have dengue treatment facilities," said the health DG.

In response to a question on whether a public health emergency should be declared over the current dengue situation, Khurshid Alam said, "We do not see a situation to declare a public health emergency. It was declared during the Covid-19 outbreak. If a public health emergency is required, it should be discussed at the policy level. We have expressed our concerns at the policy level."

Health Services Division Secretary Dr Anwar Hossain Howlader, who was also present at the press conference, said the physicians of Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) held a programme at Mugda Hospital and demanded the declaration of a public health emergency. However, it is not yet a situation to declare such an emergency.

The secretary said that a DGHS team is monitoring the private hospitals so that they cannot collect extra money for the treatment of dengue patients.

He also said that legal action will be taken against all private hospitals if they do not provide the information of the admitted dengue patients to the DGHS within 24 hours.

6 more dengue patients die, 1,424 hospitalised in 24 hours

Six more dengue patients have died and 1,424 were hospitalised across the country in the last 24 hours till Sunday morning.

With the latest figure, a total of 106 dengue patients have died in the country and 20,878 were admitted to hospitals this year, according to DGHS data.

Of the new cases, 741 were reported in Dhaka city and the rest were from various parts of the country. A total of 4,955 dengue patients, including 3,154 in Dhaka, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.