dengue danger

Five more die

Five more dengue patients, including two children, died yesterday even as hospitals across the country admitted a large number of dengue patients to cope with the crisis. Breaking all previous records in the country, the number of recorded cases of dengue in the first eight months this year has hit 36,668, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). A total of 2,002 dengue patients were admitted to different hospitals in the last 24 hours, between Thursday and Friday morning, across the country. With the latest fatalities, the official death toll has risen to 31, which is much lower than the unofficial tally of at least 68 deaths this year. Three deaths were reported in Dhaka and one each in Barishal and Faridpur yesterday.

Rifat, 10, son of Khorshed of Jamalpur, died at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) around 12:30 am yesterday. He was admitted to the hospital with dengue on August 8 and died while undergoing treatment.

Mehraz Hasan, 8, died at the United Hospital yesterday. He was undergoing treatment at the hospital for the last two days.

Shamim from Manikganj’s Ghior upazila was admitted to DMCH on August 5. He died around 3:15pm.

In Barishal, Mojibor Rahman, 52, general secretary of the Barguna Rifles Club, died at the Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital (SBMCH) yesterday. He was admitted to the hospital on Thursday in a critical condition. He was suffering from diarrhoea and dengue infections. With this, the dengue death toll at the SBMCH rose to three.    

In Faridpur, housewife Lippi Akhter, 30, wife of Mahabub Khalifa of Muksedpur in Gopalganj, died at the Sadar Hospital in the afternoon, a week after she was admitted to the hospital.

According to DGHS control room data, the total number of admissions was 18,207 in the first eight days of this month. From January 1 to August 8 this year, at least 27,876 patients were released from hospitals across the country after recovery.    At least 8,763 patients, including children, are currently undergoing treatment at hospitals. Among these patients, 5,076 are in Dhaka city.

Experts said both private and state-run hospitals were receiving a large number of dengue patients every day and the number was continuing to rise rapidly, claiming three to four lives per day, on average, this month. Doctors said they were facing a huge pressure daily to provide treatment and accommodate a large number of dengue patients in various hospitals. The situation would spin out of their control if the number of dengue cases kept rising.

“We have received a record number of dengue patients from across the country so far this month. This month, the number of dengue cases is much higher than that of last month,” said Dr Ayesha Akhter, in-charge of the disease control room at the Directorate of Health. She also said the health department had taken several initiatives to control the situation. “If the initiatives taken by DGHS work properly, the number of dengue patients will hopefully decrease soon,” she added.  

Meanwhile, road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader said that the government would be able to contain the dengue menace.

He said this during a visit to the Gabtoali bus stand yesterday to supervise the holidaymakers’ journey home ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.

The minister said Prime Minister had on Thursday called for a year-long awareness programmes and action plans to check the spread of the mosquito-borne dengue fever.

 

dengue danger

Five more die

Five more dengue patients, including two children, died yesterday even as hospitals across the country admitted a large number of dengue patients to cope with the crisis. Breaking all previous records in the country, the number of recorded cases of dengue in the first eight months this year has hit 36,668, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). A total of 2,002 dengue patients were admitted to different hospitals in the last 24 hours, between Thursday and Friday morning, across the country. With the latest fatalities, the official death toll has risen to 31, which is much lower than the unofficial tally of at least 68 deaths this year. Three deaths were reported in Dhaka and one each in Barishal and Faridpur yesterday. Rifat, 10, son of Khorshed of Jamalpur, died at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) around 12:30 am yesterday. He was admitted to the hospital with dengue on August 8 and died while undergoing treatment. Mehraz Hasan, 8, died at the United Hospital yesterday. He was undergoing treatment at the hospital for the last two days. Shamim from Manikganjs Ghior upazila was admitted to DMCH on August 5. He died around 3:15pm. In Barishal, Mojibor Rahman, 52, general secretary of the Barguna Rifles Club, died at the Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital (SBMCH) yesterday. He was admitted to the hospital on Thursday in a critical condition. He was suffering from diarrhoea and dengue infections. With this, the dengue death toll at the SBMCH rose to three. In Faridpur, housewife Lippi Akhter, 30, wife of Mahabub Khalifa of Muksedpur in Gopalganj, died at the Sadar Hospital in the afternoon, a week after she was admitted to the hospital. According to DGHS control room data, the total number of admissions was 18,207 in the first eight days of this month. From January 1 to August 8 this year, at least 27,876 patients were released from hospitals across the country after recovery. At least 8,763 patients, including children, are currently undergoing treatment at hospitals. Among these patients, 5,076 are in Dhaka city. Experts said both private and state-run hospitals were receiving a large number of dengue patients every day and the number was continuing to rise rapidly, claiming three to four lives per day, on average, this month. Doctors said they were facing a huge pressure daily to provide treatment and accommodate a large number of dengue patients in various hospitals. The situation would spin out of their control if the number of dengue cases kept rising. We have received a record number of dengue patients from across the country so far this month. This month, the number of dengue cases is much higher than that of last month, said Dr Ayesha Akhter, in-charge of the disease control room at the Directorate of Health. She also said the health department had taken several initiatives to control the situation. If the initiatives taken by DGHS work properly, the number of dengue patients will hopefully decrease soon, she added. Meanwhile, road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader said that the government would be able to contain the dengue menace. He said this during a visit to the Gabtoali bus stand yesterday to supervise the holidaymakers journey home ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. The minister said Prime Minister had on Thursday called for a year-long awareness programmes and action plans to check the spread of the mosquito-borne dengue fever.