The outbreak of the Aedes mosquito-borne viral disease is increasing across the country at an alarming rate. According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), at least nine people died from dengue while 882 others were admitted to different hospitals across the country on Thursday. This is the highest death toll from dengue in a day this year. With the new cases, the total number of dengue patients in the country rose to 40,983, including 13,337 from outside of Dhaka on Thursday.
The number of dengue patients is surpassing the capacity of all public hospitals in the capital. Many hospitals in the city, including Dhaka Medical College Hospital, are struggling to provide treatment to the rising number of dengue patients due to a shortage of beds. However, experts assert that the DGHS data about dengue patients does not give a complete picture of the dengue outbreak as the organisation collects data from only 47 hospitals in Dhaka and many private clinics in Dhaka remain outside its data collection efforts.
Proper hygiene and
sanitation can help prevent
transmission of dengue virus
Dengue mosquitoes thrive in areas with stagnant water in puddles, water tanks, containers and old tyres. Hence, at the household level, people need to be aware of these issues, and keep their houses clean. The best way to prevent the disease from spreading in settlements is to remove waterlogged areas, keep the settlements always clean and properly dump bio-degradable garbage away from human settlements and use insecticide-treated mosquito nets. These are not difficult tasks. Proper hygiene and sanitation can help prevent the transmission of dengue virus.
A new variety of type-3 dengue was found for the first time in Bangladesh in 2020. Considering the changing characteristic of the disease, departments concerned including health experts should look forward to conducting further research and forming a high-profile committee of experts to formulate a guideline to tackle dengue. Also, proper directives should be provided to the hospitals in case of encountering any dengue cases as in both dengue and coronavirus cases the symptom of fever is common.
The two city corporations should deploy expert teams to visit dengue-prone areas in the city and inform people about how to destroy all potential mosquito-breeding sites. Also, in order to control Aedes mosquitoes, devising an integrated initiative, especially involving locals has become the need of the hour. If city authorities do not devise necessary measures immediately to control Aedes mosquitoes, there might be a surge in the number of dengue patients.
