Despite the deadliness of the disease itself, dengue was always considered a minor threat in Bangladesh. However, over the past few years, the prevalence of the disease has increased manifold and culminated in the absolute worst outbreak in the history of our nation two years ago, resulting in well over 300,000 infections and close to 2,000 deaths.
While the numbers from 2024 were, thankfully, nowhere near as high, it has become abundantly clear now that dengue has, for all intents and purposes, mutated into a major public health crisis for Bangladesh. Indeed, according to official statistics from the Directorate General of Health Services, 2025 has seen 9,065 dengue patients hospitalized with 4,720 being reported this month alone. That is a startling acceleration, especially considering that the past month witnessed only 1,733 cases.
One of the key reasons behind Bangladesh’s repeated struggles with dengue is our woeful mosquito control measures. Entomologists have long called for more innovative solutions to control the spread of the dengue-carrying Aedes mosquitoes, which have seemingly adopted traditional methods such as fogging. However, even the traditional methods are seemingly poorly implemented as experts have identified issues such as discrimination when it comes to fogging, with wealthier areas of the capital city being favoured.
It is high time the administration started investing in more forward-thinking approaches in tackling dengue -- methods such as the oft-mentioned genetically-modified sterile mosquito method which keep the population of Aedes in check. Moreover, we also need to see revitalized campaigns making citizens aware about how keeping their immediate environment clean can also drastically reduce the number of Aedes mosquitoes from breeding.
Bangladesh needs to stop living in the past and treat dengue with the severity it deserves now -- to this end, we need a fundamental shift in policy which would facilitate more innovative solutions being introduced in as little time as possible.
While the numbers from 2024 were, thankfully, nowhere near as high, it has become abundantly clear now that dengue has, for all intents and purposes, mutated into a major public health crisis for Bangladesh. Indeed, according to official statistics from the Directorate General of Health Services, 2025 has seen 9,065 dengue patients hospitalized with 4,720 being reported this month alone. That is a startling acceleration, especially considering that the past month witnessed only 1,733 cases.
One of the key reasons behind Bangladesh’s repeated struggles with dengue is our woeful mosquito control measures. Entomologists have long called for more innovative solutions to control the spread of the dengue-carrying Aedes mosquitoes, which have seemingly adopted traditional methods such as fogging. However, even the traditional methods are seemingly poorly implemented as experts have identified issues such as discrimination when it comes to fogging, with wealthier areas of the capital city being favoured.
It is high time the administration started investing in more forward-thinking approaches in tackling dengue -- methods such as the oft-mentioned genetically-modified sterile mosquito method which keep the population of Aedes in check. Moreover, we also need to see revitalized campaigns making citizens aware about how keeping their immediate environment clean can also drastically reduce the number of Aedes mosquitoes from breeding.
Bangladesh needs to stop living in the past and treat dengue with the severity it deserves now -- to this end, we need a fundamental shift in policy which would facilitate more innovative solutions being introduced in as little time as possible.