A total of 824 new patients diagnosed with dengue have been admitted to hospitals across the country between 8am Saturday (Jul 27) and 8am Sunday (Jul 28), according to official figures.
The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) says puts the count of the total number of the people infected with the mosquito-borne viral disease at 11,564 this year. Of them, 8,725 returned home after receiving treatment, according to the Health Emergency Operation Centre and Control Room of the DGHS.
According to it, a total of 2,921 people are now being treated with dengue at hospitals, including 540 at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), 224 at Mitford Hospital and 217 at the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital.
Meanwhile, 200 patients have been admitted to private hospitals and clinics in the last 24 hours.
Some 920 dengue patients are being treated at these hospitals. So far, 4,248 patients returned home after receiving treatment.
Breaking the last few years’ trends, Dhaka has spread outside Dhaka this year. The DGHS control room has recorded 611 dengue cases in districts across the country so far this year.
At least 35 people have died from the mosquito-borne disease so far this year, according to a count by Bangla Tribune, though the official record puts the toll at eight.
Doctors at hospitals in Dhaka are struggling to handle the rising number of dengue patients and huge numbers of people with fever rushing to hospitals for dengue test.
State-run hospitals, including the DMCH, are keeping patients on the floors and corridors with the beds fully booked.
Amid the massive outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease, the government has fixed charges of dengue tests at a maximum of Tk 500 to drive down the costs of healthcare.
The decision came on Sunday (Jul 27) after a meeting between the government and owners of private hospitals.
Government hospitals do the NS1 antigen test for free to determine dengue and now the private hospitals will have to keep the charges at a maximum of Tk 500 for the same test, according to a DGHS notification.
They can charge a maximum of Tk 400 for the complete blood count or CBC test and Tk 500 for immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) tests, it said.
The incident of dengue has grown dramatically in recent months and the entire Dhaka city’s population is now at risk, DGHS Director General Abul Kalam Azad told the media after the meeting with hospital representatives.
Usually, the months of August and September are the peak period. But this year an early spike has been seen since May.
Dengue first struck Bangladesh in 2000, killing 93 people. Since 2003, the death rate has gradually declined with zero fatalities in some years.
But last year it took a devastating turn with 26 deaths, according to the government data.