So far, the country has already recorded 44 deaths and 3,651 hospitalisations from dengue this year. With ongoing intermittent rains, experts fear the situation could worsen if immediate actions are not taken.

Data from the Directorate General of Health Services reveals a worrying trend: last year, dengue cases skyrocketed from 5,956 in June to 43,854 in July.

"With the monsoon rains, dengue cases will start rising now, typically peaking this month," said Prof Kabirul Bashar, an entomologist from Jahangirnagar University.

He said rain water is accumulating on rooftops and at balconies of many buildings and also on the streets of Dhaka,  creating ideal breeding grounds for Aedes mosquitoes.

"We are getting a huge number of Aedes mosquito larvae in and around houses at Goran, Khilgaon, Mugda, Manda, Rasulpur, Maniknagar, Sayedabad, Jatrabari, Jurain, Donia, and Postagola areas," he added.

Public health expert Mushtaq Hossain stressed the importance of proper solid waste management nationwide to combat Aedes mosquitoes. "Cleaning water containers alone is not enough. Garbage must be buried to prevent rainwater accumulation, which can also become mosquito breeding sites," he said.

He emphasised the need for a nationwide cleaning drive to tackle the dengue outbreak and other health issues.

Community engagement is crucial, with the government leading and providing resources, Mushtaq said.

He also called for a reformed healthcare management system to reduce dengue fatalities, proposing a three-tiered approach: primary, secondary, and hospital care.

The primary healthcare approach for dengue patients involves establishing local healthcare facilities in every city wards to provide initial diagnosis and treatment, enabling early detection and reducing the burden on hospitals, he explained.

He also pointed out the lack of manpower, medicines, and diagnostic facilities at village and upazila levels, which hampers early dengue detection and treatment.

Secondary healthcare facilities should cater to at-risk patients, such as pregnant women, the elderly, and children, to reduce the burden on major hospitals and critical care units, he added.

Finally, only critical patients should be transferred to major hospitals, Mushtaq concluded.

Entomologist GM Saifur Rahman also warned that the current rain patterns will likely increase Aedes mosquito populations due to the abundance of breeding sites. He stressed the importance of destroying these sites.

Applying insecticides is less effective during inclement weather, so main focus should be on destroying breeding grounds," he explained.