The health authorities on Wednesday recorded 19 deaths–this year's highest single-day toll from dengue–with the capital city witnessing an alarming trend in fatalities from the mosquito-borne disease.
Seventeen of the deaths were reported in Dhaka in the last 24 hours till 8am on Wednesday, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Bangladesh saw 146 dengue deaths this year so far and this month alone registered 99 days till Wednesday morning.
The upward trend in deaths continued despite the authorities on Sunday rejecting the need to declare a health emergency given the dengue outbreak.
During the 24-hour span, 1,792 patients were hospitalized with the viral fever.
Of the new patients, 922 were admitted to hospitals in Dhaka and the rest outside it, said the daily update of the DGHS.
A total of 5,552 dengue patients, including 3,370 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.
So far, the DGHS has recorded 25,792 dengue cases and 20,094 recoveries this year.
The country logged 281 dengue deaths in 2022 – the highest on record after 179 deaths recorded in 2019. Also, it recorded 62,423 dengue cases and 61,971 recoveries last year.
The DGHS has recently issued comprehensive instructions on the prevention of dengue infection as the mosquito-borne tropical disease has increased sharply in the current year.
According to the DGHS data, dengue infection has increased five times between January and May.
Dhaka turns deadly
The country saw 40 deaths in the last three days, with Dhaka city accounting for 31 of those.
This means more than three-fourths of the dengue fatalities took place in the capital.
Additionally, the patients in Dhaka kept on outnumbering those outside it for the last few days.
Within the Dhaka South City Corporation, Jatrabari, Mugda, Kadamtali, Jurain, Maniknagar, and Sabujbagh, have the highest number of dengue patients.
Moreover, Uttara, Mohammadpur, Mirpur, Tejgaon, and Badda from the Dhaka North City Corporation are also experiencing a surge in dengue cases.
The majority of these cases involve patients aged between 18 and 40 years, DGHS Additional Director General Dr Rasheda Sultana said on Tuesday.
Experts worried
Public health experts and professionals emphasized a holistic approach to combating the dengue menace.
"We need to take a holistic approach incorporating all relevant agencies to contain dengue disease as it has created a massive public health burden," Professor Dr Md Nazmul Islam, Line Director, Communicable Disease Control (CDC) of the DGHS.
He said the number of dengue patients had been increasing alarmingly since January this year giving a signal of a dengue pandemic during the rainy season as 566 dengue cases were reported in the first month of the year, which is almost five times higher than that of the same period of the past three years.
Dr M Mushtaq Hussain, adviser of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research, described community mobilization as the most effective initiative to control the dengue outbreak as the country is now in the grip of the mosquito-borne disease.
"Community engagement is very crucial to prevent dengue disease... All relevant organizations should work in a coordinated manner to rein in the dengue outbreak," he added.
Dr Mushtaq said: "Dengue infection rate will increase during the rainy season if we do not take proper measures to halt the spread of the disease."
He emphasized taking integrated efforts to tackle dengue disease and said that a single institution cannot handle the menace.
Kabirul Bashar, professor of Zoology at Jahangirnagar University, warned that dengue cases will increase in August and September as these two months are the most suitable period for the breeding of Aedes mosquitoes.
"We need to recruit health workers, who will oversee many houses in particular areas in Dhaka city throughout the year," Bashar told Dhaka Tribune, adding that a year-long monitoring system must be introduced to destroy potential breeding sources of Aedes mosquitoes.