Multi-sectoral efforts are necessary to control the current dengue outbreak that has taken a severe turn, said speakers at a seminar yesterday.

To improve the situation, there is an urgent need for everyone's responsible attitude and engagement, they said at the event organised by Public Health Association of Bangladesh at National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (NIPSOM).

"A combined approach is imperative in the fight against dengue," said Prof Shah Monir Hossain, president of the association and former director general of DGHS.

He stated that eliminating dengue entirely from the country is not possible for the government without active participation of civil society, media, and people.

"We can get rid of the problem by uniting public service providers and government institutions through effective planning," he said.

While presenting another keynote, Prof Sanya Tahmina, former additional director general of the DGHS, said, "The present situation does not indicate that we are united. The dengue situation seems to have been forgotten due to the election issue. This may intensify the disaster further."

She opined that the present dengue crisis should be declared a health emergency.

Dr Mushtuq Hussain, consultant at Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research, echoed the same.

"It is not like hundreds of people need to die for the situation to be considered an [health] emergency," he said.

Prof Nazmul Islam, director of Disease Control at DGHS, emphasised the urgency of measuring the severity of dengue outbreak nationwide.

Prof Md Golam Sarwar, head of entomology department at NIPSOM, stated that  mosquitocide and larvicide have lost their effectiveness.

Journalist Shishir Moral added that the guideline to tackle dengue outbreak is not being followed amid the ongoing dengue outbreak.