275 hospitalised with dengue
LGRD minister says situation may improve in a month
At least 275 patients were hospitalised in the last 24 hours till 8am yesterday. Of them, 64 are from outside Dhaka.
According to Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), with the new cases, 5,345 have been diagnosed during the current month, out of 15,976 infected this year.
Of the 15,976 infected, 1,842 are from outside Dhaka.
At least 7,698 were diagnosed in August, 2,286 patients were hospitalised in July, 272 in June, while 43 were infected in May, according to DGHS.
As per DGHS data, 59 people have died of dengue this year. All of them succumbed to the disease in July, August and September. Twelve people died in July, 34 in August, and 13 in September so far.
Among the deaths, 54 have died in Dhaka division, two each in Chattogram and Khulna, and one in Rajshahi division.
Although most patients who were hospitalised have so far been released, 1,072 are still undergoing treatment at hospitals in Dhaka, and 215 outside the capital, DGHS data shows.
Meanwhile, Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) Minister Md Tazul Islam yesterday said the number of dengue cases is expected to decline within a month.
Many people had left Dhaka for a long time due to Covid-19 restrictions and Eid vacation, and during this period, Aedes mosquitoes bred in stagnant water in houses and under-construction buildings, leading to the outbreak.
The situation will improve within a month, the minister said, while speaking at a dialogue organised by Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forum at the secretariat.
He said there was no planned initiative to control dengue in 2019, but the country witnessed 1,405 dengue cases in 2020, as some steps were taken at that time.
He further said many children died of dengue, and many lost their relatives this year. Authorities do not want more lives lost to dengue, and so will take steps from this year's experience.
The minister said the dengue situation in the country is better than that of Vietnam, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Singapore and Philippines.