Over the past week, 50 districts across Bangladesh have been gripped by dengue with the mosquito-borne disease spreading more aggressively and at least 1,283 people infected.
Though doctors claim most of these patients were infected in Dhaka and admitted to the local hospitals after returning to their locality. However, the sharp rise in infections in the past week indicates that dengue has started to spread all over the country.
The disease, which spreads among humans when an Aedes mosquito infected with the dengue virus bites them, has no known cure or vaccine yet.
Although the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) says only eight people have so far died from the disease, the unofficial tally of reported deaths stood at 37 until Monday.
According to DGHS data, between January 1 and July 29 this year, the number of dengue diagnosis saw sharp rise outside of Dhaka, with 1,283 cases reported so far in different districts under seven divisions — Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Barisal, and Sylhet — till 8am Monday.
The highest number admissions — 391 — was recorded in Chittagong Division, followed by 370 in Dhaka Division, 203 in Khulna, 171 in Rajshahi, 61 in Rangpur, 57 in Barisal, and 30 in Sylhet, according to data compiled by the Health Emergency Operation Centre and DGHS Control Room.
Of these patients, 101 in Dhaka Division, 125 in Chittagong, 108 in Rajshahi, 102 in Khulna, 55 in Rangpur, 24 in Barisal, and 16 in Sylhet are currently admitted in different hospitals.
In Dhaka city, the number of dengue patients this year has already broken the previous records in the last 19 years. The dengue outbreak in the country also reached a record high on Monday, with 1,096 patients getting hospitalized in 24 hours till 8am Monday.
From January 1 to July 29, at least 13,637 dengue patients were admitted in hospitals. Among them, 11,450 were hospitalized in the past 29 days alone.
Three more dead
Three dengue patients also died on Monday — two in Dhaka and another in Savar.
In Savar, a businessman named Jewel Mahmud Nayan, 38, died of dengue fever while undergoing treatment at Enam Medical College Hospital.
A man named Shanto, 24, who was from Narayanganj Sadar, died while undergoing treatment at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) ICU.
Another dengue patient, identified as Rita Akter, 28, also died at DMCH on Monday morning. She was admitted to the hospital on July 26.
In Faridpur, a man named Selim Biswas, 40, reportedly died of dengue in Faridpur Medical College Hospital. However, the hospital’s Director Dr Kamuda Prasad Saha said they were yet to confirm whether the patient died of dengue or not.
Most hospitals unequipped to detect dengue
Most hospitals and clinics outside Dhaka are unequipped to detect dengue patients, report Dhaka Tribune correspondents from several districts.
These hospitals are sending patients to Dhaka or to the district towns where there are state-run medical college hospitals for their better treatment.
Although the government hospitals are providing free treatments to the patients, patients and attendants at some hospitals alleged that they had to pay higher charges for different diagnostic tests.
In Madaripur, 16 people got infected with dengue and all of them were sent to either DMCH or Faridpur Medical College Hospital, said the district's Civil Surgeon M Shafikul Islam.
Anwar Hossain, a dengue infected patient from Madaripur Sadar, said he got infected and were admitted to the hospital even though he did not go to Dhaka recently.
“It is very sad that a government hospital does not have proper treatment facilities for patients,” said dengue patient Priyanka Akhter who was previously admitted to Madaripur Sadar Hospital.
In Bogra, doctors at Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital said they do not have blood cell separation machine.
“We used to have two machines, but they are non-functional now. We treating the patients following the national guideline, but there is no proper equipment to treat patients with hemorrhagic dengue fever,” said the hospital's Assistant Director Dr Arifur Rahman Talukder.
He added that they have informed the DGHS director general about the situation.
Civil Surgeon Dr Gausul Azim Chowdhury claimed all 77 infected patients in his district were returnees from Dhaka and they have not found any existence of Aedes mosquito in the locality.
In Natore, no government hospitals have dengue detection facilities, while seven dengue patients were detected at Satata Clinic and Diagnostic Centre this month.
The district’s Civil Surgeon Azizul Islam said he heard of the seven patients and sent a representative to Dhaka on Sunday night to bring a detection device.
Patients in Feni said they were receiving treatment in government hospital at low costs, but were forced to spend more money for the dengue detection tests at private diagnostic centers as the hospitals do not have the proper equipments.
Dipu, brother of a dengue patient at Feni Sadar Hospital, said they have already spent about Tk4,000 for different tests in one day after his brother's admission.
Feni Adhunik Sadar Hospital's Residential Medical Officer Dr Abu Taher Patwary said a total of 61 people were admitted to the hospital, among which 24 were undergoing treatment.
He claimed that all except two were returnees from Dhaka.
Our correspondents Monjur Hossain, Madaripur; Nadim Hossain, Savar; Wali Newaz, Faridpur; Nazmul Huda Nasim, Bogra; Kamal Mridha, Natore and Rafiqul Islam, Feni contributed to this report
