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Minor girl dies in Barishal as 2,176 more infected

Health experts fear further dengue infections during Eid


FE Report | August 11, 2019 00:00:00


This time, a 10-year-old girl died of dengue in Barishal on Saturday as the viral disease kept spreading fast to elsewhere outside Dhaka city.

Sources said the girl identified as Rusho lost her fight against the deadly virus in the morning at Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital.

Meanwhile, public-health experts in Dhaka are worried about the rising dengue cases outside the city amid widespread prevalence of the disease.

They fear further infections by Aedes during Eid as millions of vacationers are travelling home across the country from the capital.

The experts have rung an alarm bell for proper treatment with a call to regularly clean houses to destroy the vectors and their breeding grounds.

Dr SM Bakir Hossain, director of the hospital, said Rusho's condition was critical on Friday night and she was shifted to the intensive care unit.

"Tragically, she died about 8:15 am. She was infected with dengue virus in Dhaka and recovered fast. Then her family came home to celebrate Eid when she fell sick again."

Dr Hossain anticipated an increase in dengue cases during holidays as many infected persons are travelling across Bangladesh for Eid celebrations.

"It might further raise the scope to spread the virus as the number of patients here increased gradually for the past couple of days," he said.

With this latest fatality, the death toll unofficially climbed to 75, but the state-run directorate general of health service claims the number to be 29 only.

The official data also showed a surge in viral infections outside Dhaka, where it is declining now.

According to health emergency operation centre and control room, a total of 2,176 persons tested dengue positive in the past 24 hours till 8:00 am on Saturday.

Of them, 1,111 were from outside the capital and 1,065 in Dhaka. But the numbers were 1055 and 947 respectively in the previous 24 hours.

With this, the total number of dengue patients reached 38,844 since July 2019. Of them, 29,395 have returned home after receiving treatment.

The fast rise in dengue cases has created a panic among the countrymen as many are thronging hospices to get their blood tested even in light pain and fever.

The healthcare centres are already overcrowded because of extreme pressure of patients.

Dr Rashid-e-Mahbub, former president of Bangladesh Medical Association, said hundreds of thousands are going to their roots in villages during Eid-ul-Azha, slated for August 12.

Those carrying dengue virus are among the Eid trippers. Once an Aedes bites them, it will carry the virus for next prey. The virus spreads this way, he mentioned.

"We have to be very wary. Otherwise, the situation might go beyond our control like the Philippines," Dr Mahbub added.

Medicine expert Prof Dr Fakhrul Amin said people should clean their houses and premises regularly and contact physicians in case of any fever with pain.

He suggested persons with dengue symptoms should undergo blood tests before leaving Dhaka for village homes and stay alert to further prevalence of dengue.

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