Death toll from dengue rises to 790

Staff Reporter :
Twelve more deaths were reported from dengue in 24 hours till Friday morning, raising the fatalities from the mosquito-borne disease in Bangladesh to 790 this year.

During the period, 2,129 more patients were hospitalised with the viral fever, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

Of the new patients, 843 were admitted to hospitals in Dhaka and the rest outside it, DGHS said.

A total of 9,891 dengue patients, including 4,016 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.
So far, the DGHS has recorded 161,964 dengue cases, 151,283 recoveries this year.

This month, the Aedes mosquito-borne Dengue has claimed the lives of 197 people across the country. A total of 38,156 cases were also reported during the same period, DGHS added.

Hospitals, especially in Dhaka, are struggling to accommodate the large number of patients suffering high fever, joint pain, and vomiting, health officials said.

The government has taken initiatives to limit the spread of mosquito-borne diseases, they added.

There is no vaccine or drug that specifically treats dengue, which is common in South Asia during the June-to-September monsoon season when the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the carrier of the deadly virus, thrives in stagnant water.

The World Health Organization recently warned that diseases such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever caused by mosquito-borne viruses are spreading faster and further because of climate change.