An alarming surge in dengue cases in Bangladesh from the beginning of August has persisted into the first week of September, prompting experts to sound more warnings.
An average of 200 hospitalizations from dengue have been recorded each day this month, so far, as intermittent rains continue to form stagnant pools that are ideal breeding grounds for Aedes mosquitoes.
From September 1 to 6, a total 1,216 hospitalisations were recorded across Bangladesh, including 79% (957) in Dhaka alone, data compiled by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) show.
As many as 10 deaths were confirmed during the period, including five recorded on Tuesday.
Jahangirnagar University department of zoology Prof Kabirul Bashar said the increase in hospitalizations is particularly concerning as dengue patients are not usually hospitalized unless they are suffering from serious complications, such as haemorrhagic fever
“I think the city corporations are failing to properly conduct hotspot management, a mechanism where city corporations collect details of a patient admitted to hospital with dengue fever, identify dengue prone areas, and take effective measures in those specific areas,” he opined.
Since January 1, the DGHS has confirmed a total of 7,397 hospitalisations from dengue, including 6,048 in Dhaka, and 31 deaths.
Dengue cases started to spike from June this year, with 737 hospitalisations and one death in the month. Subsequently, there were 1,571 hospitalisations and nine deaths in July, and 3,521 hospitalisations and 11 deaths in August, according to DGHS records.
Dhaka North City Corporation Chief Health Officer Brig Gen Md Zobaidur Rahman said the current weather is perfect for aedes mosquito breeding, and this is why the number of cases is at its peak.
He expected the number of cases to drop in the coming months.
“Rainfall is low, but it is still causing stagnant water to pool on rooftops and inside houses of different buildings where citizens usually pay less attention than needed. The city corporation is regularly conducting anti-mosquito drives, but citizens also need to play a role by keeping their houses free of stagnant water,” the official added.
Dhaka South City Corporation public relations officer Abu Naser said DSCC officials have been visiting different houses based on information provided by the DGHS.
“Although the DGHS list is often flawed, such as lacking contact details or mistakenly identifying regular patients as dengue patients, our activities to destroy mosquito breeding grounds in dengue-prone areas are going on,” he said.
He added that a dengue control room was monitoring the situation and coordinating the combing operations.