Public health experts, at a dialogue on Tuesday, asked for collective efforts of all stakeholders, including government, non-government agencies and citizens to combat dengue threat in the forthcoming rainy season.
The UHC Forum, a coalition of health-focused professionals and non-government organisation BRAC jointly organised the multi-stakeholder dialogue on dengue preparedness at CIRDAP auditorium in Dhaka.
Speakers said that dengue once was considered as a seasonal issue but it was then considered as a year-round epidemic.
Providing entomological perspectives, Jahangirnagar University professor Kabirul Bashar said that he found the disease bearing vector was shifting behavioural and breeding patterns.
鈥楢edes mosquitos are thriving not only in dirty sewage water but also in clear water. Intensity of artificial light means 鈥� the fatal bite is happening at night also,鈥� he added.
Health minister Samanta Lal Sen said that the menace could not be restricted in cities but had spread to villages. Dengue situation could be acute in the villages.
鈥榃e must work together to control the diseases,鈥� he said.
DGHS director general Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam acknowledged the service gap of urban primary healthcare centres and appreciated the scientific community in providing updated research findings and home-grown device solutions to address the challenge.
Director general of the Bangladesh Reference Institute for Chemical Measurements Mala Khan shared the innovation of a domestically developed dengue testing kit, which showed great promise as a home-grown cost-effective solution to the challenge of easy and early detection.
The country experienced one of the worst dengue outbreaks ever, recorded in 2023, with over 3,21,179 hospitalisations and 1,705 deaths.
The UHC Forum convener and BRAC chairperson Hossain Zillur Rahman chaired the event, where doctors, public health experts and activists spoke.