Rise in dengue cases rings alarm

A total of 19 dengue patients died in the first 11 days of September, including five on Tuesday, painting a grim picture this year as well.
Experts said late hospitalisation, lack of proper medical facilities across the country, un-reported dengue cases, and false test results are the major reasons for high casualties this year.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), a total of 17,284 dengue patients were hospitalised this year, while the total number of deaths is 102.
The death rate this year is 0.61 percent, up from 0.5 percent in 2023.

HM Nazmul Ahsan, associate professor at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital (SSMCH), said, “Of the four types of dengue strains, the NS1 report of the Den-2 serotype gives 30 percent false negative, while Den-4 serotype provides 50 percent false negative results.”
“When someone gets a false negative result, they do not care much about treatment and when they reach a critical stage and go to the hospital, it is already too late,” he said, adding that early treatment can save the lives of dengue patients.
“High infection rate among vulnerable groups, including the elderly, infants, obese individuals, pregnant women, and those with comorbidities such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart, kidney, lung, and liver issues, is another contributing factor,” said Nazmul.
Patients from such vulnerable groups need to be hospitalised from the beginning so that their situation doesn’t get critical, he said.
“Many patients are coming to different hospitals in Dhaka from outside, which is also a reason for the increasing number of casualties,” Nazmul said.
“It takes several hours for a patient to reach the capital, during which they don’t get enough fluids,” Nazmul mentioned.
Nazmul said the government needs to focus on improving dengue treatment and management at both rural and city levels.
Public health expert Mushtaq Hossain said changes in the current treatment management and strategy are necessary in order to bring down the dengue mortality rate in the country.
“If the government classifies dengue treatment and divides it into three parts — primary, secondary and tertiary — it will be easier to manage all the patients and the number of deaths would be reduced.”
He added that developing the primary healthcare system is also required.
“Meanwhile, the government should develop secondary health facilities for critical patients. City corporation hospitals and railway hospitals can be used as such facilities,” he added.
Mushtaq said the higher number of deaths outside Dhaka is attributed to a lack of adequate treatment and access to testing services.
He suggested setting up more blood collection centres in Dhaka for dengue patients.
The government needs to develop the upazila health complexes and community clinics for tests and treatment with more equipment and manpower, he added.
Meanwhile, amid the surge of dengue patients, SSMCH has opened separate words for dengue patients.
Director of the hospital Dr Shafiur Rahman inaugurated the wards.
There are 50 beds in the male ward and 40 beds in the female ward, said Associate Professor HM Nazmul Ahsan.
Stressing the need for a proper database of dengue patients, entomologist Manzur A Chowdhury said the daily dengue bulletin of DGHS is based on data from only 57 public and private hospitals in Dhaka and 81 district and divisional-level hospitals.
But around 16,000 public and private hospitals, clinics, and other facilities across the country are providing dengue care, said Manzur, a former president of Zoological Society of Bangladesh.