Helemul Alam

At least 10 dengue patients have died and about 756 new patients were hospitalised in the first 17 days of the year, portending an ominous trajectory of the mosquito-borne disease in 2024.

At a time when the capital already has a scarcity of parks, playgrounds, and open spaces, yet another park is struggling to survive.

It was 3:12pm and the voting was well underway at Model High School and College in Jatrabari’s Dania area.

The year 2023 is marked by the worst outbreak of dengue since the disease’s first official appearance in 2000. The country witnessed 1,705 dengue-related deaths and a total of 321,179 reported cases this year.

Experts urge for early steps to prevent similar outbreak

One of the main reasons behind dengue deaths this year was second-time infection, while other reasons include late hospitalisation and comorbidity, according to the recent findings of the health directorate’s death review committee.

The authorities have apparently not learned any lessons from this year’s dengue outbreak that saw records tumble both in terms of death toll and hospitalisation.

Despite December being a month which sees less dengue cases, the first 15 days of the month this year have seen 54 deaths and 6,722 cases.

The severity of dengue infection continues to be high even as winter is here, which is otherwise a lean season for the disease.

With just 10 days remaining in November, the number of dengue cases has surpassed the three lakh mark this year. Contrary to the usual trend of declining cases with the onset of winter, the addition of 1,291 new cases brings the total for the year to 3,01,255.

While the country is already grappling with its worst dengue outbreak recorded, the current rainfall due to cyclone Midhili is likely to see the outbreak linger even longer, according to experts.

Twenty-four dengue patients died in the last 24 hours till 8:00am yesterday, the highest number of single-day casualties from the mosquito-borne disease in the country, taking the death toll past the 1,500-mark this year.

Though winter is knocking at the door, the dengue outbreak still continues to ravage the country, with most infections now being recorded outside Dhaka.

A shockingly small amount of the solid waste, produced by cities and municipalities across the country, are being recycled, according to a Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics survey.

Dengue has emerged as a year-round threat in recent years, in contrast to the common understanding that the mosquito-borne fever occurs mainly during the monsoon.

Despite a gradual decline in infection rates, the number of cases and fatalities remains alarmingly high, even as November begins

The death toll from dengue this year has crossed the 1,300-mark as another 11 new deaths were reported in the last 24 hours till 8:00am yesterday.

Around 71.81 percent of the 88 dengue patients who passed away between October 15 and October 21 died of shock syndrome, according to Directorate General of Health Services data.

With 1,558 new dengue cases reported yesterday, the total number of dengue cases has surpassed 2.5 lakh, marking yet another milestone for the mosquito-borne disease this year.

Mohammad Kawsar Hossain, 65, a resident of Jhenaidah, has been undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital since Saturday, after he was admitted with dengue.