2 die of dengue in Khulna, Mymensingh

Two people died after being diagnosed with dengue in Khulna and Mymensingh today.

In Mymensingh, Hafizul Islam, 30, a readymade garment worker from Trishal upazila, died while being taken to Dhaka from Mymensingh Medical College Hospital (MMCH) in the morning.

Dr Laxmi Narayan Majumdar, deputy director of MMCH, said Hafizul was diagnosed with dengue when he was in Dhaka.

He returned home after receiving treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).

"Hafizul came to MMCH with high fever on Tuesday night," Manumdar said.

Doctors at the emergency suggested shifting him to DMCH for better treatment. "He died around 3:00am while being taken to Dhaka," the MMCH deputy director said.

In Khulna, a dengue patient died at Khulna Medical College Hospital.

Deceased Shahida Begum, 50, wife of Saidur Rahman of Pirojpur was hospitalised with dengue fever around 8:45pm yesterday, according to a hospital's doctor.

"She died around 5:30am," said Dr Soirandranath Biswas, resident physician of the hospital.

Six people have so far died of dengue at the hospital.

Dengue, a mosquito-borne viral infection, causes flu-like illness, and occasionally develops into a potentially lethal complication called severe dengue. About half of the world's population is now at risk, the WHO says.

Southeast Asian countries are seeing huge increases in fatal dengue cases this year. There is no specific treatment for dengue or severe dengue, but early detection and access to proper medical care lowers fatality rates below one percent.

The government said 66,064 patients were hospitalised with the disease since January 1. Of them, 60, 569 were discharged after recovery.