Bangladesh recorded 153 new cases of dengue in the last 24 hours, 150 of which were detected in Dhaka alone.
This is the highest single-day caseload reported in Dhaka so far this year, according to the latest dengue update by the Health Emergency Operation Centre and Control Room of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) released on Wednesday.
According to the health authorities, July has been the worst month in the country so far this year in terms of dengue infections. Till now, 1,726 dengue cases have been recorded in July. Of them, 99% were diagnosed in Dhaka alone.
They also said the number of dengue cases diagnosed in July was six times the total cases detected the previous month.
The health authorities reported 272 dengue cases in June this year.
Prof Dr Nazmul Islam, spokesperson for the DGHS, during a regular health bulletin on Wednesday, said the dengue outbreak this year is similar to that in 2019, but this time it is more concerning as the country is also struggling through the Covid-19 pandemic.
He urged everyone suffering from high fever to get a dengue test beside Covid-19.
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“All the upazila, district and government hospitals have the facilities to do dengue tests for free,” he said.
The test could also be done at private facilities, he added.
He also urged everyone to keep their residence and surroundings clean to prevent aedes breeding.
According to the DGHS, 568 dengue patients are currently undergoing treatment at various government and private hospitals across the country.
Of them, 557 are in Dhaka and the remaining 11 are outside Dhaka.
Between January 1 and July 28, at least 2,098 dengue patients have been diagnosed in the country, 1,526 of whom have made full recovery.
Four deaths have been reported so far this year, and the DGHS has sent the information on the deaths to the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) for further analysis, sources at the health directorate said.
