18 die of dengue, highest ever in a day

Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh recorded its highest ever 18 fatalities in a day from dengue infection on Monday, taking the total death toll from the disease to above 400 this year.

Besides, 2,480 more people were hospitalised in the 24 hours till Monday morning, according to data released by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

With the latest figure, a total of 416 dengue patients have died so far in the country this year, marking the highest ever death toll in a year from the deadly disease in the country’s history.

Last year, a total of 281 people were recorded to have died after being infected by dengue.

Of the latest dengue-related deaths, 11 were recorded in Dhaka and the remaining 7 were recorded in various parts of the country.

Meanwhile, the number of total hospitalisations from the disease has reached 87,891 this year, according to DGHS data.

Of the new cases, 919 were reported in Dhaka city and 1,561 were from various parts of the country.

So far 78,044 dengue patients were released from hospitals in the country this year while 9,431 patients are under treatment at various hospitals and healthcare centres.

Death rate from the disease has been recorded at 0.5%.

As the infections plague the country, 2023 has already become the deadliest year in terms of dengue fatalities since the first recorded outbreak in the year 2000, beating the previous peak of 281 deaths in 2021.

With monsoon yet to end, the situation is expected to worsen in the coming days. On top of it, floods in various parts of the country are feared to add to the crisis.