A least five people died of dengue and 534 others were hospitalised across Bangladesh in the past 24 hours till Tuesday morning, raising the number of death from dengue infection to 102 so far this year.
Of the deceased, two died in Chattogram, one each in Dhaka south and north city areas, while the other one died in Khulna, according to the Directorate General of Health Services data.
According to the DGHS data, both the cases of deaths and hospitalisation are increasing. The hospitalisation due to the mosquito-borne viral disease reached 16,819 since January.
The deceased people are aged between 16 years and 50 years. Three of them are women and two are men.
Of the deaths, 14 died in January, three in February, five in March, two in April, two in May, eight in June, 12 in July, 27 in August and 19 in the first 10 days of September.
Of the hospitalisation this year, 1,055 were reported in January, 339 in February, 311 in March, 504 in April, 644 in May, 798 in June, 2,669 in July, 6,521 in August and 3,978 in first 10 days of September.
Dengue killed 1,705 people and sent 3,21,179聽 people to hospitals in 2023 alone against 853 deaths and 2,44,246 hospitalisation between 2000 and 2022, the DGHS data showed.
A dengue outbreak was first officially reported in the country in 2000 when 93 people died and 5,551 patients were hospitalised, according to DGHS data.
Entomologists observed that dengue patients are on the rise largely due to the inactivity of the authorities concerned in the ongoing monsoon.
National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine entomology department head professor Md Golam Sharower observed that dengue control drive did not get proper attention this year and questioned the effectiveness of the insecticides being applied for years.
National University entomologist GM Saifur Rahman said that currently, serotype-II dengue was responsible for most deaths and hospitalisation.
