HEALTH-DENGUE/JOHNSON&JOHNSON
According to Reuters on the 14th, the number of dengue fever infections in Bangladesh this year reached 291,832 and the number of deaths reached 1,476 as of the 12th. Hospitals in Bangladesh, a country with a high population density, are struggling to cope with the increasing number of dengue fever patients.
This year’s dengue fever situation in Bangladesh is considered the worst in history. Last year, the number of dengue fever deaths was 281, but this year it has increased more than five times. This is the worst figure since 2000, when Bangladeshi authorities began tracking dengue fever. Even scholars who study mosquitoes and dengue fever say, “We have never seen an outbreak this serious.”
Kabirul Bashar, a professor of entomology in Jahangirnagar, Bangladesh, said, “Due to climate change, temperature, precipitation and other factors are changing patterns. Even in mid-October, we are seeing rain similar to the monsoon season, which is unusual.” “We are creating ideal conditions for breeding, and the mosquitoes are adapting to this,” he said.
Dengue fever is common in South Asia during the monsoon season, from June to September, because the Aedes mosquito that spreads it breeds in stagnant water. Temperatures are rising due to abnormal climate, monsoons are getting longer, and the period of activity of mosquitoes that transmit dengue fever is also getting longer. This year is also the first time that all dengue fever cases have been reported in all 64 regions of Bangladesh, which has a population of 170 million.
Professor Bashar pointed out, “We now need to closely examine how dengue fever spreads throughout the year.” Dengue fever is generally known to cause symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle pain, and joint pain, but this year in Bangladesh, it was reported that some patients who visited hospitals with coughing symptoms were diagnosed with dengue fever.
Dengue fever is a disease for which there is no vaccine or treatment. Through early detection and appropriate treatment, the death rate of infected people can be reduced to less than 1%, but as the outbreak rapidly increases, there is a shortage of intravenous fluids, which are essential for treating seriously ill patients. On the 8th, a Korean who visited Bangladesh was hospitalized at a local hospital with dengue fever, but died two days after symptoms appeared.
2023-11-14 04:32:25
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