5-year-old, nurse die of dengue
Chameli Begum fulfilled her dream of becoming a mum when she gave birth to her first child, Saimon, 28 days ago.
An assistant nurse at Momtaz Eye Hospital in Manikganj, Chameli, 28, died of dengue fever at a private hospital in the capital on Wednesday.
Her elder brother Anwar Hossain said she was admitted to District Hospital in Manikganj on August 29 after being diagnosed with dengue.
Chameli was shifted to a private hospital in Dhaka on Tuesday, said Dr Manobendra Sarkar, in-charge of the dengue ward at the Manikganj hospital.
Anwar said his sister died at Rushmono Specialised Hospital in Dhaka’s Moghbazar area around 11:00am on Wednesday.
The newborn baby’s paternal grandmother was looking after him.
Chameli got married about a year ago. Her husband Sabuj Mia, who previously ran a small business, is jobless now.
In Khulna, five-year-old Sharabonti died of dengue fever at Khulna Medical College Hospital (KMCH) yesterday afternoon.
Hospital sources said Sharabonti from Jashore’s Bagherpara upazila was admitted to the hospital on August 31.
Partha Protim Debnath, assistant registrar of medicine department at the KMCH, said Sharabonti had been suffering from dengue fever and other complications for the last few days. She died around 2:30pm yesterday.
Atiar Rahman Sheikh, assistant civil surgeon of Khulna, said nine people, including six women, died of dengue fever in Khulna division this year. Of them, seven died at the KMCH.
With the two deaths in Dhaka and Khulna in the last two days, a total of 131 people have died of dengue fever in the country this year, according to The Daily Star statistics. However, the government put the death toll at 57.
The pressure on hospitals eased in the last few days as the number of newly admitted patients came down.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), 3,371 dengue patients were undergoing treatment at hospitals across the country yesterday. Of them, 1,729 were receiving treatment in Dhaka.
The DGHS said 788 dengue patients were admitted to hospitals across the country in 24 hours till 8:00am yesterday. Of them, 331 were admitted to hospitals in Dhaka.
A total of 74,353 people got infected with dengue across the country this year. Of them, 42,514 were infected in Dhaka.
Our Manikganj and Khulna correspondents contributed to this report.