Dengue fever outbreak getting worse with around 2,000 cases since January
Cases are five times those of last year, with 13 deaths already reported. The Health Ministry is mobilising with prevention campaigns. Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar are among the hardest hit.
BANGLADESH
Dengue fever outbreak getting worse with around 2,000 cases since January
Cases are five times those of last year, with 13 deaths already reported. The Health Ministry is mobilising with prevention campaigns. Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar are among the hardest hit.
Dhaka (AsiaNews) – The number of cases of dengue fever is up fivefold over last year, this according to Bangladesh Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque.[*]
Since January, around 2,000 people have been admitted to hospitals suffering from this mosquito-borne disease, 1,269 people in the capital Dhaka alone, and 631 elsewhere with 13 deaths so far.
Minister Maleque spoke about the dengue emergency at a press briefing on COVID-19 vaccinations.
Given the increase in cases, Health authorities are taking measures needed to limit the outbreak.
“Doctors and nurses have been trained on how to identify and treat dengue cases. Meanwhile, the survey on dengue is ongoing,” the minister added.
In fact, some 2,500 professionals are already involved in the emergency since the start of the year.
Maleque explained that hospitals are setting up wards and beds for dengue patients. Steps have also been taken to inform the public about the virus.
"We have engaged different people, including teachers, students and military personnel, to make people aware about dengue. Already, steps have been taken to make people aware," the minister said.
This is being done through posters, banners and TV ads meant to raise awareness among people.
Leaflets have been handed out in all 75 wards covered by the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) whose mayor, Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, inaugurated the mass distribution in the Sabuj Bagh area.
However, dengue is not only an urban problem. About 1,066 cases have been reported since 1 January until 23 May 2023 among Rohingya in one of the largest refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar.
The latter is the hotspot of the outbreak, this according to Health Minister Maleque, who noted that specific measures have been implemented at such locations with health officials making sure that dengue does not spread to areas near the camps.
[*] Also spelled Malik.
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06/12/2023 14:07
15/06/2018 16:30
