- Nearly 46,000 patients have been admitted to hospitals across Bangladesh with the virus
DHAKA: Doctors and nurses in Dhaka are working to treat dengue patients after authorities canceled Eid leave for all medical staff on Wednesday.
Nearly 46,000 patients have been admitted to hospitals across Bangladesh with the virus.
In the past 24 hours, 1,880 new cases were admitted to hospital, while more than 4,000 are being treated in Dhaka alone. Death toll estimates, meanwhile, range from 40 to 90 people.
Dengue spreads among humans through its carrier, the aedes mosquito.
From July to September, during the monsoon season, it spreads rapidly as the mosquitos breed.
The first recorded case of the disease in Bangladesh was in 1965, with the worst previous outbreak affecting the country in 2000.
The current outbreak started in Dhaka last July.
Several government hospitals have already added new dengue wards to accommodate patients but this has still proved inadequate.
“On Eid day, I rushed to the hospital after the Eid prayer and had a very busy day treating patients,” Prof. Syed Shafi Ahmed, director of the Dhaka Children’s Hospital, told Arab News.
“I fear that within next couple of days, again we will have a huge number of dengue victims when people return to Dhaka (from Eid vacations),” he added.
Many employees have had their personal Eid leave cancelled to deal with the outbreak.
“Usually we don’t perform any duties during Eid vacations. For the first time, I have been serving at my hospital for the well-being of the patients,” said Saleha Khatun, a senior nurse at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.
“My four-year-old son Ayman got affected by fever just before the Eid day. I was worried about the treatment process and availability of doctors as it’s a vacation period,” Dhaka resident Prema Chowdhury said.
“On Eid day morning I rushed to the hospital with my son and after immediate tests he was diagnosed with dengue. Doctors admitted him and after 2 days, my son is doing better.”
Doctors have warned people to be more cautious about taking other medicines if they are diagnosed with the disease.
“Any medicine like steroids or others may aggravate the impact of the dengue virus for any patient. In case of fever in this season, the best solution is to have enough water and liquid drinks like fruit juice,” Dr. Meerjady Sabrina Flora, director of the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research, told Arab News.
“At the moment Bangladesh is fully equipped to deal with dengue as we have already prepared a national guideline about the treatment process of patients. In Dhaka, which is the most affected city, around 2,000 doctors and nurses have already been trained to deal with it,” Dr. M. M. Aktaruzzaman, dengue program manager of Directorate General of Health, told Arab News.
Until last year, the highest number of dengue patients in a single year was recorded at around 10,000.
But this year it is already close to 50,000, with half of the monsoon season still to come, worrying health professionals across the country.