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Aedes larvae found in half of Dhaka houses

Four more die


FE REPORT | Saturday, 2 September 2023


Aedes mosquito larvae have been found in 40-50 per cent of households in the capital, officials of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said while conducting a survey on Friday.
The DGHS has been conducting the monsoon survey on Aedes mosquitoes in the city for the last 10 days. Friday was the eighth day of the 10-day drive.
Under the survey, samples were collected from different households in Gulshan-Banani areas, and Aedes larvae were found by examining the samples.
As part of the survey, the DGHS officials conducted an anti-Aedes larvae campaign in the garage of a multi-storied building at Gulshan-1. During the raid, bottles and car tires were found in the garage with Aedes mosquito larvae.
Tariqul Islam, an entomological supervision officer of the DGHS, told reporters during the raid that Aedes larvae were found in 40-50 per cent of households in the last eight days.
Meanwhile, DGHS additional director Md. Nazmul Islam, who was present during the raid, told the reporters that on an average 75 people died of dengue in the first eight months of the year (January-August).
"And, 90 per cent of the total deaths took place within three days (72 hours) of admission to the hospital."
"In case of fever, after four to five days, the patient's condition is supposed to worsen. Then death after three days means - the onset of this disease is earlier. At first, the patient does not go to the doctor. When the patient arrives at the hospital, his condition has already deteriorated," he added.
On the daily cases and casualties, the DGHS reported four more deaths due to the mosquito-borne dengue fever till 8:00 am on Friday. Of the new deaths, one was from Dhaka and three from outside Dhaka.
With these deaths, the casualties rose to 597, including 439 from Dhaka.
Meanwhile, 1,534 hospitalisations were also recorded on the same period across the country, including 589 from Dhaka. The total dengue cases rose to 125,342. Of the total cases, 58,610 were from Dhaka, according to the DGHS.
A total of 8,348 people were being treated in hospitals across the country. Of them, 3,818 were from Dhaka. Of the total admitted, 116,397 patients made recovery and returned home, including 54,353 from Dhaka, added the DGHS.

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