Bangladesh's neighbouring countries are suffering more from dengue outbreak, Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) Minister Md Tajul Islam has said.
“India reported some 200,000 dengue cases on Saturday. Cases and death rates are especially high in Kolkata,” said the minister at a meeting organized to review the activities of the city corporations and other ministries to combat dengue.
The minister later said that till October 1, Singapore reported 28,196 cases, but the numbers have increased since then. “Some 37,950 dengue cases were reported in Malaysia, 94,355 cases in Indonesia, and 145,650 cases in the Philippines.”
On the other hand, the minister added that till October 26, Bangladesh reported 33,923 cases, which is a lot less than most neighbouring countries.
“We can say we're doing better than most countries as our population density is more than the mentioned nations, but I don't want to say that,” the minister said.
He added that the government aims to get dengue cases below 2,000, which was reported in 2021.
The minister said before 2019, Bangladesh did not suffer too much from dengue. “We did not have much experience with the disease. But after 2020, we understood the viral fever more and knew which sectors needed interventions.”
He later said that in 2021, Bangladesh reported some 20,000 dengue patients and few deaths. However, in 2022, a dengue outbreak has been reported in several countries, including Bangladesh.
“Generally we have noticed that dengue cases see a declining trend from September. However, climate change has been affecting the number of cases. It is sad to say that October is coming to an end, but there is no sign that cases are declining this time,” LGRD Minister Md Tajul Islam said.
As of Saturday, Bangladesh's dengue fatalities have risen to 134.
In the last 24 hours till Saturday, some 440 patients were hospitalized with the viral fever, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
