Countrywide cleanliness drive from 29 Oct to curb dengue
Death toll rises to 1,214 as 8 more die in 24 hours
The government has initiated a weeklong special cleanliness campaign across 64 districts of the country to tackle the ongoing dengue outbreak.
The campaign, involving more than 18,000 volunteers, will be conducted from 29 October to 4 November.
"Our activities to prevent dengue are underway… We have repeatedly urged for keeping the houses clean," said LGRD Minister Tajul Islam while announcing the cleanliness campaign at a hotel in the capital yesterday.
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Blaming the lack of awareness among people, he added, "The dengue situation has deteriorated this year compared to other years. It is a big challenge for us to prevent the menace."
At the event, Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Atiqul Islam said discussions have been held with scouts, mosque imams and teachers, along with officials of the education ministry and various councils, to combat dengue.
This year, as many as 9.96 lakh houses were inspected during anti-dengue drives in Dhaka North, and Tk3.11 crore was collected in fines so far, said the mayor.
Emdadul Hoque Chowdhury, joint secretary of the LGRD ministry, said 76% of the patients, who were hospitalised in Dhaka from 8 to 14 October, were from outside the capital.
Prof Quazi Tarikul Islam, chief editor of the national guidelines on dengue treatment, said the fatalities from dengue have surpassed all previous records this year, and the death toll from the mosquito-borne disease is the highest in Bangladesh.
The death toll from dengue in the country reached 1,214 so far this year, with eight new deaths reported in the past 24 hours ending at 8am yesterday, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.
During the 24-hour period, 2,350 more patients were hospitalised, including 504 in Dhaka, taking the number of hospitalisations from the mosquito-borne disease to 2,49,543 this year.
A total of 8,232 dengue patients, including 2,472 in the capital, were receiving treatment at hospitals across the country yesterday, said the directorate.
So far 2,40,097 dengue patients were released from hospitals this year.
The country recorded 281 dengue deaths in 2022, the highest on record after the 179 deaths recorded in 2019. Additionally, the health directorate recorded 62,423 dengue cases and 61,971 recoveries last year.
