Dengue spreads to 53 districts

Highlights: 

• 52 people have so far died from dengue this year, compared to only one death in the same period last year
• 8,757 people were hospitalised with dengue across the country this year 
• Experts argued against the tally and said that the actual number of dengue cases is much higher
• There were no dengue deaths in the first six months of 2021 and 2020, while eight deaths were recorded in the same period of 2019
• And a record number of 281 people died of dengue in the country last year 

The number of infections and deaths from dengue is increasing at an alarming rate this year, experts said, as the official tally shows that the menace has already spread to 53 districts.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), a record number of 52 people have so far died from dengue this year, compared to only one death in the same period last year. 

Until Sunday, 8,757 people have been hospitalised with dengue across the country.

Experts argued against the tally and said that the actual number of dengue cases is much higher.

They lamented that the government has no effective initiative to prevent dengue from spreading throughout the country. During the recent Eid-ul-Adha, people travelled outside Dhaka city and inadvertently helped dengue infect people in those areas. If not controlled, the dengue situation can become even grimmer, warn experts.

Professor Be-Nazir Ahmed, former director (Disease Control) at DGHS, said the current rainfall patterns are likely to cause waterlogging in many places, which in turn will increase the breeding of Aedes mosquitoes.

"We are getting into a difficult situation as dengue is spreading across the country. Now 17 crore people in the country are at risk of getting infected," he told The Business Standard,

According to DGHS data, there were no dengue deaths in the first six months of 2021 and 2020, while eight deaths were recorded in the same period of 2019. 

And a record number of 281 people died of dengue in the country last year. 

Of the patients this year, 6,481 were hospitalised in Dhaka and 2,276 elsewhere.

Currently, 1,388 dengue patients are taking treatment at different hospitals across the country and 966 of them are from Dhaka and 422 from outside Dhaka.

Of the deaths, 41 are from Dhaka city, 10 from Chattogram and one from Barishal.

The number of dengue patients outside Dhaka has been increasing for the past few days. 

Out of the 509 dengue patients hospitalised nationwide on Sunday, 224 were admitted to hospitals in Dhaka, while the remaining 285 were admitted elsewhere.

Dengue has been a public health problem for the last 23 years. WHO experts K Krishnamurthy in 2017 and BN Nagpal in 2019 recommended dengue prevention. The health department did not implement any of the recommendations.

Every year since 2000, many people are getting infected with dengue and people are dying.

In 2020, the year the Covid-19 epidemic started, the incidence of dengue was slightly lower. But in 2021, 28,429 people were hospitalised due to dengue and 105 of them died.

Last year, 62,382 people were hospitalised due to dengue.

In 2019, more than one lakh people were infected with dengue and sought treatment in the hospital.  

Experts blame the Local Government Division for its inability to bring dengue under control.

They said dengue prevention activities are not carried out throughout the year. The health ministry attempts to fulfil its responsibility by giving advance warning, but neither the city corporations nor the local government ministry takes effective measures to control the population of Aedes mosquitoes and larvae even after receiving advance warning. They continue to rely on usual methods to control dengue.

Dr Be-Nazir Ahmed said, "Even after the local government has been in charge of controlling dengue for so long, we have not seen any improvement."

He added that if the matter is completely left to the health department, it may bring some control, as the health department is regularly researching the pattern and density of dengue. However, control activities are currently entirely in the hands of the local government.