14 die of dengue in 24-hour

Staff Reporter :
Fatality of dengue is increasing alarmingly despite various initiatives taken by the departments concerned as 14 more deaths were reported from dengue in 24 hours till Saturday morning, which climbed near to 900 this year.

With the latest fatalities the death toll from dengue virus has risen to 893 this year.

According to data released by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS)on Saturday, 2,865 new dengue patients were admitted to different hospitals including capital city Dhaka and rest of the country.

With the latest figure, a total of 893 dengue patients have died in the country and 184,717 were admitted to hospitals this year, according to the DGHS data.

Of the new cases, 814 were reported in Dhaka city and 2,051 from various parts of the country.

So far, 173,252 dengue patients were released from hospitals in the country this year.

A total of 10, 572 dengue patients, including 3,794 in Dhaka and 6,778 are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country, shows the DGHS data.

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

Meanwhile, the number of dengue patients outside the capital is rising but the treatment facilities at hospitals and access to medicine, including injectable salines and platelets, remain inadequate.

In many districts, patients are suffering due to a shortage of beds and staff at hospitals.

Besides, centrifugal machines – a device that spins the blood to separate red blood cells, platelets and plasma – are not present in many hospitals outside Dhaka, forcing patients towards Dhaka for medical treatment.

The country recorded 281 dengue deaths in 2022, the highest on record after the 179 deaths recorded in 2019.

The DGHS recorded 62,423 dengue cases and 61,971 recoveries last year.

However, the government has decided to procure 20 lakh bags of saline for dengue patients through direct procure method (DPM) from abroad.