Dengue deaths outside Dhaka: Lack of facilities adding to the numbers

Mohammad Yasin, a resident of Faridpur's Boalmari, was admitted to a hospital in his hometown after being diagnosed with dengue seven days ago.

However, the next day, he was referred to another hospital in Faridpur sadar as his platelet count came down from over 1 lakh to 46,000.

Admitted to a private facility in the town, his platelet count plummeted to 26,000 that day and to 10,000 the following day, compelling his doctors to refer him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

"My platelet count was 8,000 when I was admitted to DMCH two days ago. I am feeling better now, thanks to timely treatment. However, I am still feeling dizzy," said the 22-year-old.

Mohammad Nayeem of Panchdona in Narsingdi, who was admitted to DMCH this Saturday, shared a similar experience.

A good number of dengue patients like Yasin and Nayeem come to different hospitals in the capital, mostly in critical conditions.

The journey further deteriorates their condition as it disrupts their fluid management, which is crucial for dengue patients, according to doctors.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services data, only 44 out of the 132 deceased in the last 11 days hail from the capital.

However, analysing the DGHS data based on the deceased addresses, 101 out of 132 deceased dengue patients during this time came from outside Dhaka.

At least 12 dengue patients died in the last 24 hours till yesterday morning, eight of whom were from outside Dhaka.

With the figures, the total number of dengue deaths this year rose to 646. Of them, 468 died in Dhaka. With 2,823 new dengue cases during this period, the total number of cases rose to 1,33,134. Of them, 61,489 of whom are from outside Dhaka.

HM Nazmul Ahsan, associate professor at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, said there should be better treatment and management facilities outside Dhaka.

"It takes several hours for a patient to reach the capital, and during this time, he does not get enough fluid supply. Thus, many patients collapse even before they are admitted to hospitals," he mentioned.

Such patients have lower chances of survival as they might suffer a decompensated shock, which reduces their chances of recovery by 50 percent. A patient with decompensated shock syndrome may die within a few minutes to one hour, he added.

Nazmul advised the authorities to improve dengue management systems outside the capital to lower casualties.

Mushtuq Hussain, consultant at the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research attributed the higher number of deaths outside Dhaka to the lack of access to testing services and adequate treatment in rural areas.

There is no dengue testing service at the upazila health complexes. Besides, people in villages do not have any access to testing facilities near their residences and come to the facilities after it is too late. This results in delayed hospitalisation and deaths, he mentioned.

"We often see the authorities blaming the people for their lack of awareness. However, this is a very vague remark and looks like they are attempting to evade responsibility towards their people," he added.