14 patients die of dengue, record 2,653 new cases

Staff Reporter :
Fourteen more deaths were reported from dengue in 24 hours till Wednesday morning, raising the fatalities from the mosquito-borne disease in Bangladesh to 215 this year.
During the period, 2,653 more patients were hospitalised with the viral fever, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Of the new patients, 1, 327 were admitted to hospitals in Dhaka and the rest outside it, according to DGHS.

A total of 8, 189 dengue patients, including 4, 760 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.
So far, the DGHS has recorded 40, 341 dengue cases, 31, 937 recoveries. The country logged 281 dengue deaths in 2022 – the highest on record after 179 deaths recorded in 2019. Also, it recorded 62,423 dengue cases and 61,971 recoveries last year.

Meanwhile, the virologists of the country have asked the authorities concerned to use vaccine along with destroying mosquito larva and its breading ground to tackle the spread of dengue.
They said there are two dengue vaccines active in the world whose are approved by 20 countries to inoculate. These vaccines are 80 per cent effective and vaccinated 90 per cent people do not need to hospitalize.

The experts made the remarks in Dhaka Reporters Unity’s (DRU) conference room on Wednesday titled ‘Dengue outbreak and our responsibility’ organized by Society for Medical Virologist.
In the programme Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University’s

(BSMMU) Virology department professor Dr Saif Ullah Munsi presented keynote paper.
In the paper, he said there are two vaccines approved by World Health Organisation (WHO) and The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Two countries are also allowed to use these. So, we can think use of these vaccines before dengue turns more dangerous.
Society for Medical Virologist Vice- president and Director, Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) Professor Dr Tahmina Shirin said recently the patients have been increased remarkably and its main reason is rebirth of dengue serotype.

She also emphasizes the use of vaccine to curb the dengue outbreak.
BSMMU Former Vice chancellor and also former chairman of virology department Professor Dr Md Nazrul Islam said Covid-19 pandemic has opened up our weaknesses over the counter virus related epidemic.

He presented the importance of building up a national institute for virology.
President of the Society for Medical Virologist professor Dr Zulfikar Mamun said control and diminish the dengue our break is a key challenge for us in this situation.
He also urged the authorities to allow the use of vaccine to tackle the dengue outbreak.