Bangladesh reports record dengue deaths this year, 586 hospitalisations

Bangladesh has recorded the highest number of dengue deaths this year, with six fatalities and 586 hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

On Thursday, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said this year’s official death toll from the mosquito-borne disease rose to 145.

Two of the dead were receiving treatment in Dhaka’s Mugda Medical College Hospital, and one each at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, DNCC COVID-19 Hospital, Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, and Mymensingh Medical College Hospital.

Of them, four were male, and two female, aged 49, 30, 85, 52, 6, and 45.

Deaths due to the Aedes mosquito-borne disease have varied sharply across months. July saw the highest toll with 41 deaths, followed by 39 in August.

Another 19 patients died in June, 10 in January, seven in April, three each in February and May, while no deaths were reported in March. September has seen 23 fatalities.

According to the health directorate bulletin, the latest admissions brought the total number of hospitalisations to 36,682 this year.

Hospitalisations have also spiked seasonally. July alone accounted for 10,684 admissions, the highest monthly figure this year, followed closely by August with 10,496.

Other monthly totals include 1,161 in January, 374 in February, 336 in March, 701 in April, 1,773 in May, and 5,951 in June. As many as 5,206 patients have been admitted in September already.

Of the 586 new patients in the past 24 hours, 247 were from the two Dhaka city corporation areas.

Another 104 were from elsewhere in the Dhaka Division, 58 in Chattogram, 109 in Barishal, 44 in Rajshahi, 12 in Mymensingh, 10 in Rangpur, and two in Sylhet.

At present, 1,792 dengue patients are receiving treatment in hospitals across the country. Of them, 746 are in Dhaka and 1,046 outside the capital.

The health directorate has tracked dengue cases since 2000. The worst outbreak came in 2023, when 321,179 patients were hospitalised and 1,705 died.