Health authorities say that at least 104 more people were hospitalized with dengue in Dhaka city alone in the 24 hours until Saturday morning amid a rise in the mosquito-borne disease.
Across Bangladesh, some 422 patients diagnosed with dengue were receiving treatment in different hospitals for the disease as of Saturday morning, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The vast majority of these patients are in the capital.
DGHS reports that 419 patients were receiving treatment at different hospitals in the capital alone, while just three patients were listed outside Dhaka.
Some 1,574 patients were admitted to different hospitals with dengue since January and 1,149 of them have been released after recovery.
The recent spike in dengue cases has added to the burden on healthcare providers as the country continues to grapple with the devastating second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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DGHS spokesman and line director Dr Nazmul Islam advised testing for dengue as well as Covid-19 in case of temperature.
He said medicine should be taken on the advice of a registered doctor only in case of treatment. If necessary, one may contact the DGHS hotline number.
In 2020, DGHS had reported 1,193 dengue cases and three confirmed dengue-related deaths. It marked a dramatic and largely unexplained drop from the previous year, which was the worst year on record for dengue in the country.
According to official figures, 101,354 dengue cases and 179 deaths were recorded in Bangladesh in 2019.
Dengue fever was first reported in Bangladesh in 2000, claiming 93 lives that year.
In the years that followed, the country learned to deal with the disease much better, but it did become endemic. Fatalities almost fell to zero at one stage, before spiking again in 2018, leading to the horrific crisis the following year.
