Mushtaq Ahmed Shawon
Narayanganj is now witnessing a dengue outbreak that has surpassed epidemic levels. Almost every household in the city and its suburbs has dengue patients. Alarmingly, even the two government hospitals in the city are overrun with mosquitoes. The dengue wards are unbearably hot, adding to patients’ suffering.
In the past month alone, nine people including school students and parents have died in areas such as Deovogh Laxmi Narayan Akhra, Nandipara, and Bhuiyanbag in Jiuspukurpar. In suburban neighborhoods like West Deovogh Banglabazar, Kashipur, Masdair, Bholaile, and Baraivogh, daily reports of dengue deaths have become the norm. Narayanganj city is now overwhelmed by the severe outbreak. So far, more than 1,500 people in this industrial city on the banks of the
Shitalakkhya River have been infected. Corridors of both government and private hospitals are overcrowded. The city’s two hospitals cannot cope with the number of patients, forcing many to seek treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital or DNCC Dengue Hospital in Mohakhali. For patients whose platelet counts drop dangerously low, going to Dhaka is the only option.
Conversations everywhere revolve around the same topics who died yesterday, whose child has been hospitalized, whose daughter’s platelets have dropped. Dengue is no longer a seasonal disease here; it has gone far beyond epidemic proportions. Inside government hospitals, mosquitoes breed freely, while patients struggle to breathe in the sweltering heat. At her home in Deovogh Laxminarayan Akhra, Anjali Saha sat in her courtyard, her eyes swollen from crying. Her 14-year-old daughter, Anamika, an eighth-grader, was admitted to the 300-bed hospital with fever on September 7. As her platelets rapidly declined, doctors referred her to Dhaka. But before she could be taken there, Anamika died.
In Nandipara, 19-year-old Ashiq, son of Jahir Uddin Bhuiyan, also died of dengue. “We thought it was just a fever,” said his father. “Two days later he started bleeding. The hospital told us his platelets were dropping. We searched desperately for an ambulance to take him to Dhaka, but before we could arrange it, my son was gone.” At least five people from Bhuiyanbag alone have died recently, according to residents. A former councilor admitted that 8–9 people from that area have died in the past month. A visit to Narayanganj Sadar Hospital revealed patients lying on stretchers in the corridor—some receiving saline, others struggling for breath. With no available beds, many had to lie on the floor. Conditions at the 300-bed hospital were even worse. Patients and relatives were drenched in sweat from the heat, while mosquitoes flew freely inside the wards. In the dengue ward, relatives waved handheld fans to drive mosquitoes away from patients. Doctors and nurses continued providing care, but one patient’s mother expressed despair: “The doctors say take him to Dhaka. But how will we go? We can’t find an ambulance. When we do, they ask for 4–5 thousand taka. How can a poor family afford that?” Civil Surgeon Dr. A.F.M. Mushior Rahman confirmed that no hospital in Narayanganj has a platelet counting or separation machine. As a result, patients in critical condition must be referred to Dhaka. “The number of dengue patients has risen at an alarming rate,” he said. “Every day, 100–150 patients are admitted to Sadar and the 300-bed hospital combined. With limited beds, we are forced to send many to Dhaka.” Families report that patients often die on the way. Once platelet levels fall, every minute becomes critical—but delays from referrals and travel cost lives.Doctors, business leaders, and local residents now unanimously demand platelet separation machines in Narayanganj. These machines can separate platelets from donor blood and deliver them directly to patients—often the only way to save lives during severe dengue cases. Narayanganj City Corporation’s health department admits that at least 20 of its 27 wards are badly affected. Although they claim daily spraying operations are underway, residents disagree.
“They fog the streets, but it doesn’t work,” said Mosharraf Hossain, a resident of Banglabazar. “Within two hours, mosquitoes are back. The drains are clogged with stagnant water, and larvae control is nonexistent.” Another added, “The fogging is just for show.” Medical experts warn that in severe dengue, platelet levels fall dangerously low, increasing the risk of bleeding. Platelet transfusion is the only effective treatment. While this facility is available in some hospitals in Dhaka, not a single machine exists in Narayanganj. As a result, at least 15–20 patients are sent to Dhaka every day. Health officials explain that a modern platelet separation machine costs around 8 million to 10 million taka. Budget constraints and bureaucratic delays have prevented procurement. “We’ve repeatedly requested the Ministry for approval. The process is ongoing,” said one official from the Civil Surgeon’s office. District Commissioner Mohammad Zahidul Islam Minna stated, “The district administration is fully prepared to combat dengue. Arrangements are already being made to provide a platelet separation machine for Narayanganj as quickly as possible.”
