Dengue situation ‘alarming’ already

After Bangladesh witnessed its worst outbreak of dengue last year, it is alarming to see the number of dengue patients across the country nearly doubling that of last year in the first two months of this year. As of February 29, the number of patients across the country was 1,394, compared to 732 getting infected last year. The number of deaths was 17, compared to nine deaths during this period last year. As of December 31, 2023, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) reported 321,179 hospitalisations and 1,705 deaths due to the dengue outbreak of 2023. By the look of things, those records may get shattered again this year, unless the authorities intervene in a timely manner—which, unfortunately, remains a distant dream.

That is what has gotten public health experts, entomologists, and doctors worried, who have expressed four main concerns: risk of second infection outside Dhaka, lack of mosquito control capacity outside Dhaka, lack of adequate health services outside Dhaka, and untimely rains. Health experts had expressed similar fears towards the beginning of last year, which ultimately proved correct, particularly in the absence of any meaningful actions by the authorities. The fact that they are sensing a similar danger this year should, therefore, be taken extremely seriously by authorities. Moreover, last year, for the first time, the country witnessed dengue patients outside Dhaka almost double in number compared to those in the capital. Given that health facilities outside of Dhaka are not as up to the mark as those in the capital, this posed new types of challenges.

There are four types of dengue: Dengue 1, 2, 3 and 4. Last year, the number of den-2 cases was the highest in the country. Doctors say that if a patient is infected with dengue for the second time or in a new form, the condition of the patient becomes more serious.

Given these realities, the authorities need to take steps to minimise the threat of dengue starting now. We have repeatedly urged authorities to design and implement a comprehensive dengue control and eradication plan, alongside bolstering the healthcare system across the country to deal with the increasing number of dengue patients each year. Effective mosquito control measures must be launched on an immediate basis and be continued throughout the year to prevent a similar—or an even worse—outbreak as last year.