More than 1,000 people have died from dengue fever in Bangladesh since the beginning of this year, making it the country’s largest recorded outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease, France-Presse (AFP) reported today, October 2.
Dengue fever is a disease endemic to tropical regions that causes high fever, headaches, nausea, vomiting, muscle pain and, in the most severe cases, bleeding that can be fatal.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that dengue and other diseases caused by mosquito-borne viruses such as chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika are spreading faster and further due to climate change.
According to Bangladesh’s Directorate General of Health data released last Sunday evening, 1,006 people have died among more than 200,000 confirmed cases.
Former director of the said department Be Nazir Ahmed told AFP this Monday that the number of deaths this year has been higher than in every previous year combined since 2000.
“This is a large-scale health problem both in Bangladesh and throughout the world,” he stated.
The new figures eclipse the previous highest since 2022, when 281 deaths were reported for the entire year.
Among those who died from dengue fever in less than 2023 were 112 children under the age of 15, including infants.
Scientists attribute the current record outbreak to irregular rainfall and higher temperatures during the annual rainy season, which created ideal conditions for mosquitoes to breed.
In Bangladesh, cases have been reported since the 1960s, but the first outbreak of dengue hemorrhagic fever—a severe and sometimes fatal symptom of the disease—was only reported in 2000.
Most cases are recorded during the monsoon season from July to September, months that bring most of the country’s annual rainfall, as well as periodic floods and landslides. However, in recent years, hospitals in Bangladesh have also started accepting patients suffering from this disease during the winter months.
Dengue wards in major Dhaka hospitals are filled these days with patients lying under mosquito nets under the watchful and worried gaze of their families, AFP notes.
2023-10-02 10:32:00
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