Over 61,000 dengue patients admitted in hospitals this year

Over 61,000 dengue patients were admitted to hospitals across the country this year, as the flow of patients continues.

According to Director General of Health Services (DGHS), 1,446 patients were admitted to hospitals across the country till 8am yesterday.

With the new cases, the total number of dengue patients comes to 61,038. The number was 10,148 last year.

Meanwhile, three more patients died of dengue in Dhaka and Satkhira in the last two days -- raising the death toll to 114. The official number, however, is 47.

An eight-year-old child died of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne tropical viral disease, at Dhaka Shishu Hospital.

Arian was admitted to Dhaka Shishu (children’s) Hospital with dengue fever on Thursday and died around 3:30pm yesterday, said Abdul Hakim, public relations officer of the hospital.

Till now, 12 children died of dengue in the hospital this year, he said.

Two persons -- Shahanara Khatun, 37, and Alamgir Gazi, 14 -- died of dengue in the last two days, reports our Satkhira correspondent.

Of them, Shahanara died of dengue early yesterday and Alamgir on Thursday evening, Satkhira Civil Surgeon Dr Abu Shaheen confirmed to The Daily Star.

“Shahanara was admitted to Satkhira Sadar Hospital after she was diagnosed with dengue on August 18. As her condition deteriorated, doctor referred her to Khulna Medical College Hospital. She passed away while being taken to the hospital around 1am,” her husband told the newspaper.

Dr Asaduzzaman, medicine specialist at Satkhira Sadar Hospital, told this correspondent that he had referred Shahanara to Khulna Medical College Hospital after her condition worsened yesterday.

The other deceased, Alamgir, a madrasa student in Jashore, was diagnosed with dengue on August 19 after he was admitted to Kaliganj Upazila Health Complex with fever, his brother Sujan Gazi told this correspondent.

He was shifted to Satkhira Sadar Hospital as his condition worsened, said Dr Sheikh Tayebur Rahman, health official of the upazila health complex.

Alamgir was later admitted to a private hospital in Khulna where he passed away around 6pm, his brother added.