One more dengue patient died even as hospitals across the country admitted a large number of dengue patients yesterday. Breaking all previous records in the country, the number of recorded cases of dengue in the first eight months this year has hit 34,666, according to the Directorate-General of Health Services (DGHS).

A total of 2,326 dengue patients were admitted to different hospitals in the last 24 hours across the country.  With the latest fatality, the official death toll rises to 29, which is much lower than the unofficial tally of at least 63 deaths this year.

The dengue victim was identified as Arif Khandakar Kajol, 20, who hailed from Mirzapur upazila of Tangail. He died at the Kumudini Hospital of the upazila, three days after he had been admitted there with fever.

According to DGHS control room data, the total number of admissions was 18,205 in the first eight days of this month. From January 1 to August 8 this year, at least 25,872 patients were released from hospitals across the

country after recovery.

Meanwhile, road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had urged travellers to get tested for dengue before leaving Dhaka for Eid.

The Premier made the request to help tackle the dengue menace, he added.

Quader said this at a relief distribution event at Dhaka’s Dhanmondi 32 after meeting the Prime Minister after her return from London yesterday.

Besides, Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) authorities have formed a committee to confirm dengue-related deaths amidst widespread panic over the number of fatalities caused by the mosquito-borne disease.

“A ‘Death Review Committee’ has been formed for investigation into dengue-related deaths at DMCH,” said DMCH director Brig. Gen. AKM Nasir Uddin.

The seven-member committee comprises representatives from the DMCH medicine, paediatrics, pathology and anaesthesia departments.

Nasir Uddin said that the committee would determine the cause of deaths. “Some patients are dying after being admitted to the hospital with fever. But tests need to be run in order to ascertain if indeed their death had been caused by dengue,” he added.

He also said that there were cases in which patients had been suffering from various other illnesses before contracting fever and the relatives claimed that the death had been caused by dengue.

Earlier, the government had allocated Tk. 51.5 crore to help the city corporations and municipalities fight mosquitoes. LGRD and cooperatives minister Md Tajul Islam gave this information at the Secretariat on Wednesday.

The two Dhaka city corporations were given Tk 7.5 crore each, while the Gazipur, Narayanganj, and Chittagong city corporations were allocated Tk. 1 crore each.

The other city corporations received Tk. 50 lakh each, while Tk. 30 crore was allocated for all the municipalities.

Tajul Ahmed said they were fighting the battle against dengue by taking a cue from the experience of Kolkata. “We were not aware about the breeding grounds of Aedes mosquitoes. Kolkata has achieved much by raising public awareness,” he added.

“The dengue menace will be under control if everyone keeps their residences and offices clean,” he said.