Record dengue cases linger on in winter

The year 2023 is marked by the deadliest epidemic of dengue since the disease's first official appearance in Bangladesh in 2000. The country saw a total of 1,705 dengue-related deaths and a total of 321,179 reported cases last year. According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the number of people affected by dengue on December 23 of last year was 320,272 people. Exactly one year ago on December 23 2022, the number of dengue cases had been only 61,883. This shows how severe dengue infection has been in 2023. Just in one month, more than 11,000 dengue cases were reported in September last year. At one point, the parents of schoolchildren wanted the closure of educational institutions to protect their children from dengue. Apart from this, dengue corner was introduced to all the public hospitals. At the same time, dengue-dedicated wards were launched in medical college hospitals. However, all these attempts could not stop dengue infection. Though this vector-borne disease should be around in the monsoon months, dengue cases are still being reported every day even in the winter month.
Dengue is no longer a seasonal disease in Bangladesh. Outbreaks of dengue have been observed for most of the year, which may continue in the future. But the initiatives that have been taken in some big cities like Dhaka are basically ineffective and very inadequate. So far, common people have not been involved with dengue control. Environmental control, chemical control and biological control are yet to be taken. Most of the initiatives taken by the city corporations appear as eyewash. Therefore, dengue infection could not be brought under control. If there is a combined effort by the government, local representatives and city residents, the spread of this disease can be controlled.

Ashikujaman Syed,
Marketing Research Associate, HC Minerals,
Shijiazhuang, China,
[email protected]