Seventeen more deaths were reported from dengue in 24 hours till yesterday morning, raising the fatalities from the mosquito-borne disease to 1,449 this year.

During the period, 1,734 more patients were hospitalised with the viral fever, according to the DGHS.

A total of 6,360 dengue patients, including 1,649 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country, reports UNB.

So far, the DGHS has recorded 2,87,239 dengue cases and 2,79,430 recoveries this year.

September has so far been the deadliest month for the dengue outbreak this year with 396 fatalities and 79,598 cases.

HM Nazmul Ahsan, associate professor at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, said there are multiple reasons for the high rate of dengue deaths this year, including virus, patient and management related factors.

Of the four types of dengue strains, Den-2 serotype is most active this year and has high severity. This is the reason why there are so many deaths this year, he said.

Around 87 percent of the patients were infected with Den-2 serotype, according to a recent study by Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute.

"Serotype sequence is another factor. If a patient, who was infected with one serotype earlier, gets infected again with a new serotype, then its severity will be more, especially if the second infection is from serotype-2," he said.