Dengue causing havoc across the globe

Bangladesh is not alone in experiencing the deadly outbreak of dengue fever. The mosquito-borne disease, this summer, is spreading with far greater ferocity in countries sprawled across continents.

Cities of the Philippines, Thailand, Honduras, Singapore and Brazil are reeling under this tropical fever, which has taken a deadly turn throughout the first half of this year, forcing some of the authorities to declare national emergency.

If you spread the world map, you will find it hard to get a pattern of the outbreak, which usually follows a 3-4 years of cycle of spike.

456 die in the Philippines

Health authorities in the Philippines have declared a "national dengue alert" after a spike in cases of the viral disease which has left more than 450 people dead since January.

Around 100,000 dengue cases were reported across the Philippines in the first six months of 2019, an increase of 85 percent in the same period last year.

Epidemics have been declared in four regions of the country – Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, and Northern Mindanao – which between them are home to more than 20 million people, or roughly 20 percent of the Philippines population.

Massive spread in Thailand

According to the Thai Bureau of Epidemiology, there have already been more than 28,000 cases and 53 deaths. Last year, there were 33 death cases. The Chiang Rai Times reports that medics have commented on the situation as “one of the most severe dengue outbreaks in recent years.”

59 die in Malaysia

Malaysia, another south-east Asian country close to the tropic, saw 38,000 infected patients this summer, with 59 deaths.

Singapore is alarmed

There have been 7,808 dengue cases so far this year in Singapore, about five times more than the same period last year. The largest dengue cluster in Woodlands, where there were 216 reported cases, has closed and is now under surveillance, NEA said. Five people have died from dengue this year.

Hospitals in Honduras overflowing

More than 28,000 people have been hit with dengue fever in Honduras amid fears the deadly virus could spread to tourist hotspots. The Central American country has been gripped by its worst outbreak of the viral infection in 50 years. Hospitals are overflowing with patients and 54 people, including many children, have died.

At the Roberto Suazo Cordova Hospital in La Paz, around 48 people with dengue fever were admitted in one day. The hospital is struggling so much staff have been forced to turn its chapel into a room and cancel surgeries.

600 percent rise in Brazil

In the first six months of 2019 Latin America’s largest nation recorded nearly 1.2 million cases of dengue fever – a jump of almost 600 percent from the 175,000 cases in the same period last year – and 388 deaths.

The surge is particularly concerning for scientists given it has extended into the winter season, when the disease should decline.