51 die from winter illnesses in BD
Reuters :
At least 51 people have died from cold-related illnesses in Bangladesh since the beginning of winter.
The country’s lowest temperature in 2019 was recorded at 4.5 degrees Celsius in Tetulia, a border area in Bangladesh’s north.
Close to 315,000 people have been suffering from various cold-related illnesses, mostly respiratory infection and diarrhoea, from Nov 1 of last year to this year’s Jan 3, according to the government’s health directorate.
Of them, 125,653 people received treatment from hospitals across the country for diarrhoea, 50,786 people for respiratory infection and 141,010 people for jaundice, skin rash, eye infection, lymphadenopathy, fever and other diseases.
At least 17 people died of acute respiratory infection and 34 from diarrhoea caused by rotavirus and other diseases across Bangladesh, said Ayesha Akhter, a senior official of the directorate.
Those living on low incomes, particularly labourers, are the worst affected by the cold weather because of lack of clothes while many others, especially children and the elderly people, are prone to diseases such as pneumonia, Akhter said.
“Most of the people were affected by severe cold weather in December. But the number of patients decreased in January,” she added.
More than 250 children were diagnosed with cold-related illnesses each day at Khulna Shishu Hospital by the end of December.
Two separate cold waves swept across the country at the beginning of winter. The Met Office has predicted three more cold waves to sweep across the country in January.
At least 51 people have died from cold-related illnesses in Bangladesh since the beginning of winter.
The country’s lowest temperature in 2019 was recorded at 4.5 degrees Celsius in Tetulia, a border area in Bangladesh’s north.
Close to 315,000 people have been suffering from various cold-related illnesses, mostly respiratory infection and diarrhoea, from Nov 1 of last year to this year’s Jan 3, according to the government’s health directorate.
Of them, 125,653 people received treatment from hospitals across the country for diarrhoea, 50,786 people for respiratory infection and 141,010 people for jaundice, skin rash, eye infection, lymphadenopathy, fever and other diseases.
At least 17 people died of acute respiratory infection and 34 from diarrhoea caused by rotavirus and other diseases across Bangladesh, said Ayesha Akhter, a senior official of the directorate.
Those living on low incomes, particularly labourers, are the worst affected by the cold weather because of lack of clothes while many others, especially children and the elderly people, are prone to diseases such as pneumonia, Akhter said.
“Most of the people were affected by severe cold weather in December. But the number of patients decreased in January,” she added.
More than 250 children were diagnosed with cold-related illnesses each day at Khulna Shishu Hospital by the end of December.
Two separate cold waves swept across the country at the beginning of winter. The Met Office has predicted three more cold waves to sweep across the country in January.
