Editorial Desk :
Because of the sheer negligence of the health ministry, authorities at the city corporations and municipalities, the lethal viral fever dengue has now turned into an epidemic for the people of Bangladesh.
With each passing year, the disease is growing more ferocious just because the relevant authorities did not take the disease seriously and eliminate mosquitoes that carry its virus from person to person.
For the last two months the disease is taking a huge toll on public health everyday and health experts as well as the media have been calling for declaring dengue situation a national health emergency, but the health minister time and again is telling us that the disease is under control which is, however, far from the ground reality.
Even yesterday, at least 20 dengue patients died and 2,689 new cases were hospitalised across the country in the last 24 hours till Thursday morning.
This was the second highest number of fatalities this year.
The country recorded 21 dengue-related deaths, the highest number of fatalities in a single day this year, on 2 September.
As of now the tally of deaths from dengue has already crossed 700 and more than 141,000 were admitted to hospitals this year.
The actual cases of infection would be great in number.
If the disease continues to claim lives as unchecked as it is now, soon the fatalities will reach 1000.
Despite this, the health minister, in his usual nonchalant way, would call that the epidemic was under control.
However, there is a danger in calling the dengue situation a national health emergency for the authorities.
Once it is done, the health ministry as well as the city corporations’ authorities will have to make the admittance that it is because of their carelessness this health emergency has come upon the nation as the disease is controllable.
However, the authorities have failed to realize that if it was declared a health emergency, this would have created an impact on not just the health professionals but people in general also that could have checked the disease in a significant way.
Moreover, countries as well as bodies such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) would have stood beside Bangladesh with necessary support to contain the epidemic.
Now, the government must squarely take up the blame for dengue turning into an epidemic.
Since it is a vector-borne disease and killing Aedes mosquitoes, the vector, holds the key to contain the disease, why should the number of fatalities jump year after year? Make the comparison here.
The country recorded 281 dengue deaths in 2022 and, in 2019, the figure was 179, according to data of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Now the question is why is the number of fatalities jumping with each passing year and why has the number already become more than 700 this year?
The answer is simple: there is the failure to kill the mosquitoes and there is the failure to provide treatment to the infected persons who are embracing deaths in hospitals.
The government’s healthcare system is in a shambles, yet the government appears to be unconcerned.
The people are justifiably angry and frustrated over the unpreparedness of the government.
Now, the government must be active to do everything to stop the spread of the epidemic and do everything possible to offer treatment to the increasing number of dengue patients.
