The government has stepped up nationwide preparations for a possible dengue surge, directing private hospitals to reserve 10% of their beds for dengue patients while building unprecedented stocks of testing kits, saline and emergency medical supplies.
Speaking in the National Parliament on Wednesday, Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain said authorities have taken comprehensive measures to strengthen the country’s capacity to respond if infections rise during the peak monsoon season.
He said private hospitals have agreed to reserve beds for dengue patients and conduct diagnostic tests at the same government-approved rate as public hospitals.
The minister said the government currently has 106,600 dengue testing kits in stock, with another 500,000 kits expected to arrive within the next month.
An additional 100,000 bags of saline have also been kept in reserve.
He added that NS1 dengue tests are being provided free at government hospitals, while the fees for IgG and IgM tests have been reduced from Tk300 to Tk50 to encourage early diagnosis.
The government has also kept mobile hospitals on standby and completed preparations to deploy the Army if the dengue situation deteriorates, the minister said.
To expand critical care outside the capital, 10-bed intensive care units have already been established in 12 districts, with another five districts expected to receive similar facilities within the next two weeks.
Presenting the latest dengue figures, the minister said 15,210 people had been infected and 58 had died by July this year, compared with 8,978 infections and 28 deaths during the corresponding period last year.
Although infections and deaths remain lower than the country’s worst outbreaks, he said the government was not becoming complacent.
The minister also urged people to strengthen household-level prevention by sleeping under mosquito nets, wearing long-sleeved clothing and eliminating stagnant water where mosquitoes breed.
Calling on lawmakers to support local mosquito control campaigns, he said public awareness remains critical because mosquito control cannot succeed through government action alone.
“People must become aware,” he said, noting that mosquito control workers are often unable to enter residential premises where breeding sites remain untreated.