The official death toll from dengue in Bangladesh this year has crossed 100, with seven more people succumbing to the mosquito-borne disease on Wednesday.
The health authorities have so far recorded 106 dengue-related deaths this year, including 51 in the first 19 days of October alone. This is the highest number of deaths from dengue in a single month this year, and 11 days still remain.
The country has been witnessing an alarming increase in dengue cases since May this year. After over 100 people were hospitalized with the disease in January, fewer than 25 hospitalizations were recorded in each of the next three months before it rose to 163 in May.
Over 700 people were hospitalized with dengue in June, over 1,500 in July, and more than 3,500 in August. The situation worsened further in September and October, with 9,911 and 11,710 hospitalizations, respectively, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
A total of 27,802 people have been hospitalized with dengue fever across the country since January 1. Currently, 3,304 people are receiving treatment at various hospitals, including 2,247 in Dhaka.
In light of the rising number of severe dengue cases, the health authorities on October 13 recommended preparing more hospitals for dengue treatment, especially in the dengue hotspots Dhaka and Cox’s Bazar.
At a press conference on the day, DGHS Additional Director General (Administration) Dr Ahmedul Kabir said most critical dengue patients died within three days of hospitalization as they delayed seeking treatment after falling ill.
Hospitals struggling to cope, experts for hotspot management
The recent rise in dengue cases is causing panic among residents of Dhaka city, and doctors at many hospitals are struggling to manage the rising inflow of patients.
Brigadier General Md Nazmul Haque, director of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), said they are keeping patients anywhere possible – on beds or floors- as the hospital cannot reject patients.
“More and more patients are arriving every day, and we do not have a new unit for dengue patients. We are now accommodating patients in every unit. Most of the people come here at a critical stage and we cannot refuse to provide support to them,” he said.
The DMCH director added that the hospital is receiving many patients from outside Dhaka as well.
An alarming number of the hospitalized patients are children.
Dr Ekramul Haque, deputy program manager of the National Malaria Elimination and Aedes Transmitted Diseases Control Program of DGHS, recently said 38% of dengue patients hospitalized this year were children under the age of 18. Children also make up 35% of the dengue deaths.
Dhaka Shishu Hospital Director Dr Md Jahangir Alam said the hospital authorities had to send many patients home with prescribed medicines due to a shortage of beds.
“We have patients admitted in the intensive care unit and critical care unit too. We are also using the ICU for kidney patients for critically ill dengue patients as well,” added Dr Alam, a paediatric respiratory medicine expert.
Jahangirnagar University department of zoology Professor Kabirul Bashar said Bangladesh is having a tough time with dengue as most people are going to hospitals only after falling victim to serious complications.
“The city corporations must focus on 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.
Alongside anti-mosquito drives and awareness programs, hotspot management will be the key to tackling the situation, the expert added.