Dengue infection is increasing across the country. Although there is a risk of dengue infection during the rainy season, the number of dengue patients is increasing this November as well.
According to the Health Directorate, 10 people have died of dengue in the last 24 hours. However, there is a possibility of this infection decreasing in the coming winter, said Jahangirnagar University entomologist Kabirul Bashar.
Although dengue outbreaks usually increase during the rainy season, there has been a difference this year. Even though the rainy season is over and winter is on the verge of coming, the Aedes mosquito-borne disease dengue is making a new appearance.
On Sunday (November 3), more than a hundred dengue patients were seen crying while visiting the capital’s Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital.
According to the hospital, 41 people were admitted to Suhrawardy Hospital alone due to dengue in the first three days of this November. However, no patient died in this hospital in the last three days. In addition, a total of 1,258 people have been admitted to Shaheed Suhrawardy Hospital due to dengue so far this year. So far, 1,136 people have recovered and left the hospital and 2 people have died. A total of 120 people are still hospitalized due to dengue fever.
Meanwhile, the two city corporations have taken various steps to prevent the outbreak of dengue.
Dhaka North City Corporation Chief Executive Officer (Additional Secretary) Mir Khairul Alam told Barta24.com, our activities are ongoing. We are regularly running programs. Among them, fogging, larva elimination, awareness programs, etc. are notable. Now that the monsoon has passed, there will be a few mosquitoes. After that, if there is sunlight, these natural breeding grounds will gradually decrease and the number of dengue cases and deaths will decrease.
Dhaka South City Corporation Chief Health Officer Dr. Fazle Shamsul Kabir told Barta24.com, "We have started working on dengue prevention from January this year. Public awareness work is going on in our various areas. What we have been doing especially for the last two or three months is connecting school, college and university students. We are trying to make the people aware through them. Micking and rallies have been held. We are continuing our mosquito extermination activities and combing campaigns in areas where there are more patients. We are doing all kinds of activities. We are cleaning all schools, colleges, universities and police stations in Dhaka from Dhaka South City Corporation." Stating that the Directorate of Health is providing wrong information about Dhaka South City Corporation, he further said, "First of all, the patient and death statistics you are getting from Dhaka South are completely wrong. The report of the Directorate of Health is hospital-centric. Dhaka Medical, Salimullah Medical, Mugda Hospital, Holy Family, PG Hospital are located. Dengue patients from all over the country come to these hospitals for treatment." The Health Directorate reports all the patients undergoing treatment in these hospitals as patients from the South City. But this is not an accurate report. When we looked at the deaths again, they showed 10 deaths yesterday. Out of these, 4 deaths were shown in Dhaka South. I searched the entire death list and found that one such death was from a resident of the South City Corporation area.
Similarly, this year they showed more than 100 deaths in Dhaka South. But we analyzed the address of every patient and where they were infected and found that the number of deaths of residents of the South City Corporation area so far is 32. It is sad that the Health Directorate is presenting incorrect information every day.
Meanwhile, entomologists have suggested that the City Corporation should carry out several other activities in addition to these activities to control dengue.
Jahangirnagar University entomologist Kabirul Bashar told Barta24.com that at this moment, the City Corporation should identify dengue hotspots. Then, the mosquitoes in the houses where there are dengue patients should be killed. In addition, the accumulated water in the places where water has accumulated should be thrown away. Moreover, it should be ensured that the dengue patient is first of all under the mosquito net. Kabirul Bashar also said that there will be a dengue outbreak throughout the month of November. Then the dengue outbreak will decrease. We will have to monitor the eradication of Aedes larvae from our two city corporations in particular. It is worth noting that according to the information of the Directorate of Health, a total of 63,165 patients have been admitted to the hospital since January this year. So far this year, 310 people have died of dengue. Last year, 321,179 people were admitted to the hospital due to dengue. 1,705 people died.