A man working on a mosquito net at his factory in Gulistan area of the city on Friday — FE photo The sale of mosquito repellents like coil and aerosol, electric bat and net has seen a surge amid outbreaks of dengue fever in the capital, Dhaka.
The Aedes-borne viral disease is fast spreading panic among people this year as more than 20 people have so far died being bitten by the mosquito.
Aedes aegypti, the vector of dengue virus, breeds in clean water. It also transmits diseases like chikungunya and Zika.
Some 5,500 cases have been diagnosed with dengue in the past five months until last Thursday, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.
Of them, 1,150 are taking treatment at different hospitals here.
As things have got this bad, people are rushing to buy mosquito repellents and nets to control the breeding of Aedes.
The bifurcated north and south city corporations have been spraying insecticides but to no avail, they have hardly made any contribution to check mosquito bites.
However, this fear of dengue fever has brought a seasonal fortune for traders of mosquito nets, coils, aerosols and insect-killing electric bats.
Visiting different markets, bedding stores and footpaths, this correspondent found that mosquito nets of different sizes, colours and qualities were selling from Tk 250 to Tk 800.
Mohsin usually retails ready-made garments on a footpath near Baitul Mukarram National Mosque. But he now sells magic mosquito net which in great demand.
He sells two types of nets for single bed and double bed priced at Tk 300 and Tk 450.
At Taltola Supermarket, Sharmin Sultana, a Sipahibagh resident, was seen buying a mosquito net for her three-month-old baby.
"In our house," she said, "mosquitoes roam all day and their annoyance intensifies as evening nears."
Expressing fears for her newborn's safety, Ms Sultana said, "Coil smoke and aerosol fog are hazardous to health, so net is the last resort for us."
Prices of mosquito nets for babies range between Tk 450 and Tk 1,000.
Abdus Salam, proprietor of Salam Bedding Store at West Rampura, said orders for making mosquito nets increase ahead of monsoon every year.
This year, sales have almost doubled since mid-June for both ready-made and stitched mosquito nets, he told the FE.
Abul Kalam, a grocer, said coil sales usually rise in monsoon, but this year people are also purchasing aerosols to stave off mosquitoes.
Many are also buying rechargeable bats at Tk 350 to Tk 600 to kill mosquitoes.
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