This is the third time that the yearly dengue hospitalisation tops 20,000 since 2000 when the government started keeping records of dengue hospitalisation and deaths, according to official data.

At least three more people died of dengue in the 24 hours till Saturday morning, taking the total official death toll to 67 this year across the country, said a press release of the Directorate General of Health Services.

Of the three, two died in Dhaka city and one in Cox’s Bazar district.

In the past 24 hours ending at 8:00am on Saturday, 499 dengue patients were reported in Dhaka city and 213 in other places outside the capital, said the DGHS release.

A total of 15,237 patients or over 75 per cent of this year’s total hospitalisation had been reported in Dhaka city.

Entomologists said that the two Dhaka city authorities had completely failed to control dengue situation this year due to lack of hotspot management.

They also blamed lack of monitoring, evaluation and surveillance in containing mosquito breeding for the rising dengue cases.

Jahangirnagar University zoology professor and vector management expert Kabirul Bashar told New Age that the rising number of dengue cases proved that the city authority failed in hotspot management.

‘If they conducted rapid crash programme, the situation would have been better than this,’ he added.

He feared a higher number of dengue cases till the final week of October.

Former principal scientific officer of the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research Touhid Uddin Ahmed said that the city authorities completely failed to contain the breeding of aedes mosquitoes.

‘The city corporations did not have proper monitoring, evaluation and surveillance in containing the breeding ground of aedes mosquitoes,’ he added.

He also said that they also failed to create community engagement in controlling dengue.

A total of 9,911 patients were in September alone, the highest in a month.

A total of 4,143 patients or 20.47 per cent of this year’s total official dengue hospitalisation had been reported in the first eight days of October, showing an uncontrolled rise in dengue infections.

The health directorate data, however, covers only a limited number of government and private health facilities.

Excepting September, 3,571 people affected by dengue were hospitalised in August, followed by 1,571 in July, 737 in June, 163 in May, 23 in April, 20 each in February and March, and 126 in January, according to the official data.

Currently, 2,416 dengue patients are undergoing treatment at various health facilities across the country, including 1,838 at 50 private and public hospitals in the capital city, said the DGHS release.

Of the total number of 67 deaths across the country, 34 died in Dhaka city, one in Narayanganj district, 27 in Chattogram and five in Barishal divisions, the release said.

Month-wise, one died in June, nine in July, 11 in August, and 34 in September, and 12 in the first eight days of October.

In April, the health directorate in a pre-monsoon survey found a higher density of aedes mosquitoes in the capital compared to that in 2021, predicting a worsening dengue situation this year in the city unless preventive steps were taken.

The DGHS revealed its monsoon survey in September and found mosquito density twice as much in Dhaka city as in the pre-monsoon survey.

Staff Correspondent, New Age Bangladesh