Noman Mosharef :
Four more people have died of dengue as the mosquito-borne disease continues to take its toll on the people across the country.
The deaths were reported from Dhaka, Chandpur, Madaripur and Magura.
With this, the death toll from the dengue virus raised to 90, according to sources at different hospitals.
But the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) put the figure of the death toll at 40 till Thursday.
The DGHS data shows that some 1,929 more dengue patients hospitalized in 24hrs till 8am yesterday.
A total of 7,570 patients are now undergoing treatment in government and private hospitals around the country.
Of them, a total of 3,910 patients are currently receiving treatment in 40 government and private hospitals in Dhaka, while 3,660 people are undergoing treatment outside Dhaka, according to the DGHS.
Since January 1 till August 15, a total of 48,280 people have been infected by dengue.
Among those admitted patients, a total of 40,670 have been released from their respective hospitals and clinics after treatment.
In Dhaka, a woman died of the mosquito-borne disease at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) on Thursday.
The deceased was identified as Mousumi Akhter, 25, wife of Md Mamun of Bhandaria in Pirojpur.
Quoting family members, DMCH police camp in-charge Inspector Bachchu Mia said Mousumi died at the intensive care unit around 11:40am.
She was diagnosed with dengue at Mohakhali TB Hospital on Wednesday, several days after had been suffering from fever, Bachchu said.
She was initially taken to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital as her condition deteriorated. From there, she was shifted to DMCH. In Chandpur, Zakir Hossain, a madrasha student and a resident of Tamta Paschimpara in Shahrasti upazila, died of dengue on Wednesday evening.
Zakir Hossain, father of the deceased, said his son Abu Bakar Shihab, 14, died while being taken to Dhaka from Cumilla. He said Shihab was admitted to Upazila Health Complex few days before Eid after being diagnosed with dengue. He was taken to Cumilla Medical College and Hospital after his condition deteriorated.
He was referred to Dhaka on Wednesday after his condition deteriorated further and he died on way to Dhaka in the evening, he said.
Dr Ashraf Ahmed Chowdhury, Chief Medical Officer of Shahrasti Upazila Health Complex, confirmed the death.
Meanwhile, Joynal Sharif, 52, died from dengue in Magura Sadar Upazila’s Narsinghati village on Thursday, said the District’s Civil Surgeon Dr Pradip Kumar Saha.
Joynal tested positive for dengue on Aug 8 in Dhaka, said the victim’s brother Harun-or-Rashid.
“Under the circumstances, Joynal returned to Magura and went to Magura General Hospital on Aug 10 for a dengue test. The test came out positive there as well.”
He was shifted to Faridpur Medical College Hospital on the advice of physicians at Magura hospital. But when his condition began to deteriorate there, doctors urged that he will be taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
But on Wednesday his family members took him home instead and he died there around 12:30pm on Thursday, Harun added.
In Madaripur, a health assistant named Tapan Kumar Mandal died at 3.00pm at Bangladesh Medical College and Hospital on Thursday.
His resident was Madaripur Sadar Upazila.
Mandal was transferred from Madaripur to Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) 16 days back to facilitate anti-dengue campaign at Ward No-58 of the City Corporation.
He was infected by dengue during the campaign, according to Madaripur Civil Surgeon office and his family source. Mandal became critical when he came home in Eid vacation. He was first admitted to Madaripur Sadar Hospital and later taken to Faridpur Medical College Hospital.
As his condition detoriorate further, he was shifted to Dhak’s Bangladesh Medical College and Hospital. He was taken to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on Wednesday and died there at 3.pm on Thursday.
Madaripur Civil Surgeon Md Shafiqul Islam confirmed Mondol’s death to media.
Meanwhile, both city corporations of Dhaka have already started spraying new insecticides to kill Aedes mosquitoes, the main vector that transmits the dengue virus.
Official sources said, the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) is using deltamethrin insecticide while Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) is using malathion for killing Aedes mosquitoes.
“We got satisfactory results from using deltamethrin. The insecticide has been brought from India,” a DSCC official told The New Nation on Thursday.
On the other hand, DNCC brought malathion from China. Bangladesh has been witnessing a worst-ever dengue outbreak since January this year.
