No let-up in dengue woes

Experts have been repeatedly warning about a big wave of dengue in the coming days if authorities do not take proper measures. And now, the country has witnessed three deaths in a single day, the highest this year.

At least three dengue patients died in Cox's Bazar, while 208 were admitted to different hospitals across the country in the last 24 hours till 8:00am yesterday.

This year's death toll is now 26.

Of the deaths, 15 occurred in Cox's Bazar and 11 in Dhaka, according to Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

Of the new patients, 51 are from outside Dhaka. Dengue cases this year have risen to 7,113.

A total of 806 dengue patients are still undergoing treatment; 6,281 have been released from hospitals.

A DGHS monsoon survey found that the population of Aedes mosquitoes in monsoon is over double that of the previous season.

"More dengue cases may be witnessed if proper measures are not taken immediately," said Dr Md Ekramul Haque, deputy programme manager of the malaria and ATD control programme at DGHS.

Hotspot management is crucial to control Aedes mosquitoes. This means authorities will have to collect addresses of dengue patients from hospitals and identify dengue-prone areas, said entomologist of Jahangirnagar University Prof Kabirul Bashar.