Dhaka, Sep 21 (IANS): Bangladesh has logged 87 dengue-related deaths so far in September, representing the highest monthly death toll due to dengue this year.
Six more dengue deaths were confirmed in the 24 hours ending at 8:00 a.m. local time on Sunday in Bangladesh, bringing the total number of fatalities in the country so far this year to 184, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
With 1,593 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, confirmed dengue cases have risen to 61,972 since January, according to DGHS figures from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Deaths this year include 87 so far in September, 43 in August, 36 in July and 13 in June, reports Xinhua news agency.
During the first 20 days in September, 26,126 more dengue cases were recorded after 20,536 people were infected with the mosquito-borne disease last month, according to DGHS data.
The Bangladeshi government rolled out a three-month campaign earlier this month to prevent the disease.
Dengue fever, a viral disease transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, causes an acute illness that usually develops symptoms such as headache, high fever, exhaustion, severe muscle and joint pain, swollen glands, vomiting, and rash.
Meanwhile, according to a recent report in Bangladeshi daily Prothom Alo, dengue has spread across all 64 districts of the country, with several hundred people being hospitalised every day after contracting the mosquito-borne disease. Deaths from the largely preventable illness are also being reported almost daily.
Speaking at an event at the Dhaka Reporters Unity on September 9, Bangladesh’s State Minister for Health and Family Welfare MA Muhit said that dengue infections had already begun to rise, with the peak period expected in the last week of September and early October.
Despite years of media reports and discussions over rising dengue infections and deaths, the government’s lack of commitment to dengue prevention has remained evident. The most glaring weakness has been the lack of coordination, Prothom Alo reported.
