Hospitals see rush of dengue patients

Despite the ongoing dengue outbreak, a number of open tanks have long been left unattended on the footpath beside the Dhakeshwari Temple in Old Dhaka. The stagnant clean water in the tanks can be an ideal breeding ground for Aedes mosquitoes. The photo was taken on Wednesday. — FE Photo

Rush of infected patients to hospitals continued on Wednesday with dengue situation worsening in the city, according to officials.
The alarming dengue outbreak has drawn calls from the city residents and experts to take increased efforts to handle the situation.
People of 55 wards among the 98 wards of two Dhaka city corporations are at high risk of dengue infection, according to a latest survey of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Health Minister Zahid Maleque also urged the authorities concerned to strengthen drive and launch campaign to eradicate dengue mosquitoes from the city and save lives.
He said, "We are looking at management of patients. Now we have to make arrangements to kill mosquitoes."

"Dengue infection is increasing again. Hospitals are witnessing rush of patients. Doctors are providing medical services round the clock and trying to reduce death toll."
He suggested patients to come to hospitals on time to save lives.
He made the comments while virtually addressing the launching of indoor services and operation activities at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) Super Specialised Hospital as the chief guest.
In the meantime, one more dengue patient died and 584 others were hospitalised in 24 hours till Wednesday morning, including 202 outside Dhaka, according to the DGHS.
A total of 62 people died from dengue fever this year, taking the total number of dengue cases to 10,455. Some 1,911 dengue patients are still undergoing treatment, of whom 626 are outside Dhaka.
In an effort to address the situation, the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) launched a drone survey on Wednesday and also announced to conduct a month-long crash campaign to detect Aedes larvae and eradicate dengue mosquito breeding grounds.
The DNCC undertook a drone survey last year and found potential mosquito breeding sites on the rooftop of city buildings.
Therefore, the city authority has decided to run it again this year, said DNCC chief executive officer (CEO) Md Selim Reza at the drone survey launching ceremony at Adabor in the city.
"In the city, the roof of a house is attached to another roof. It is not possible to walk to every roof to run a survey. Now standing in one place, a drone can survey the building roofs of an area of about two kilometres. In this way, five drones will be used to survey the house roofs in every area of the city."
There will be mobile courts along with conducting the survey activities. Houses with mosquito larvae on their roofs will be fined immediately, he warned.
The DNCC CEO said Aedes mosquitoes breed in clean water. Therefore, water cannot be allowed to accumulate in any container in house. Everyone should keep their yards clean to avoid dengue.
The DNCC also announced the launching of a crash campaign in its each ward for one month from July 08.
nsrafsanju@gmail.com