UNB, Dhaka :
With the nation’s healthcare system still only recovering from the blow of the Coronavirus pandemic, many hospitals in the city including Dhaka Medical College Hospital are struggling to provide treatment to the rising number of dengue patients due to a shortage of beds.
In scenes reminiscent of the country’s worst-ever dengue outbreak in 2019, many patients suffering from dengue fever were seen receiving treatment on floors and balconies as hospitals ran out of beds to accommodate them.
Visiting various areas in the city, UNB found a number of medical facilities including Holy Family Hospital, Mugda Medical College and Hospital, Bangladesh Shishu Hospital & Institute, Dhaka Medical College Hospital and Kurmitola General Hospital treating patients on the floor, as all the beds in the respective wards have been filled with patients being treated for the mosquito-borne disease.
Last Sunday (Oct. 23), the number of daily hospitalisations reported by the Directorate General of Health Services crossed 1000 for the first time this year, from 922 the day before. Hospitalisations did drop back down as the week progressed, to reach 750 on Wednesday.
The number of infections may start to fall in the first week of November, said Dr Nazmul Islam, Director of the Disease Control Department of DGHS.
Recently, the number of dengue patients has increased across the country. But the fatalities can be considerably reduced if patients go to the doctor at the right time, he said. He also said that dengue has increased due to climate change. Besides, the mosquito-borne disease has increased this time due to the lack of awareness also, he said.
