With 10 more fatalities, 2023 dengue death toll reaches 476

Staff Reporter :
A total of 476 dengue patients have so far died this year as the number of fatalities is still increasing in the country.

Meanwhile, 10 more dengue patients have died and 2,134 were hospitalised across the country in the last 24 hours till Sunday morning, with the latest cases 99,994 were admitted to hospitals this year.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) data, of the new cases, 785 were reported in Dhaka city and 1,349 were from various parts of the country.

As per DGHS report, 48,456 patients admitted to different city hospitals in Dhaka, while 51,538 patients outside Dhaka this year.

So far 91,936 dengue patients were released from hospitals in the country this year.

A total of 7,582 dengue patients, including 3,532 in Dhaka, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country, shows the DGHS data.

Dhaka and Chattogram divisions have the highest number of dengue cases.

However, DGHS officials said that though the number of dengue cases in the country is currently on a downward trend, but it is not yet to clear where this ‘pandemic’ will end.

“As we have seen, any ‘pandemic’ starts at a specific time and ends at a specific destination.

But, it is not clear where the destination of dengue will stop this year,” Director (MIS) of DGHS Professor Dr. Md. Shahadat Hossain told reporters during a press briefing.

The country recorded 281 dengue deaths in 2022, the highest on record after the 179 deaths recorded in 2019. Additionally, the DGHS recorded 62,423 dengue cases and 61,971 recoveries last year.

According to World Health Organisation (WHO), about half of the world’s population is now at risk of dengue with an estimated 100-400 million infections occurring each year.

Most people who get dengue won’t have symptoms. But for those that do, the most common symptoms are high fever, headache, body aches, nausea and rash.

Most will also get better in 1-2 weeks. Some people develop severe dengue and need care in a hospital.

In severe cases, dengue can be fatal.
Most cases of dengue fever can be treated at home with pain medicine.

Preventing mosquito bites is the best way to avoid getting dengue, WHO said.

There is no specific treatment for dengue.

According to WHO, the disease is now endemic in more than 100 countries in the WHO Regions of Africa, the Americas, the Eastern Mediterranean, South-East Asia and the Western Pacific.

The Americas, South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions are the most seriously affected, with Asia representing around 70% of the global disease burden.