THE dengue outbreak has taken a serious turn with at least 473 patients admitted to hospitals only on Tuesday. The mosquito-borne disease turns deadly with the rapid outbreak outside the capital too. A number of 94 patients were hospitalised elsewhere in the country on the same day. The health emergency and operation control room said at least five dengue patients died since January. Despite the deadly outbreak of the dengue fever, the Ministry of Health drastically failed to provide effective medicare and drugs, while unbridled corruption and apathy in the city corporations are responsible for sprouting Aedes mosquito. The Health Ministry and the city corporations should come up with strategy to control the menace whereas insectologists should provide alternative mosquito control policies.
Since January, at least 7,766 dengue patients were hospitalised and 94 of them outside the capital. Dengue spread up outside Dhaka as commuters convey the germ of the fever. Even, the civil surgeon of Chuadanga died of Dengue fever after he visited the capital. In the upcoming Eid holidays, the fever may be deadly as city dwellers trend to move their home.
Dengue tests can be done free of cost at public hospitals and it costs about Tk 250-300 at private facilities. Physicians recommend taking the test at the first sign of a fever, instead of waiting. Children and pregnant women are considered to be most vulnerable to fatalities stemming from the disease. Adults who have health complications like diabetes, high pressure, kidney or respiratory problems are more likely to suffer more if infected with dengue.
Against the backdrop of the recurring dengue every year between July and October when humidity is high along with rainfall, it is feared that the dengue situation will become more severe in the coming days. The only way to control this is to control the vector, which in this case is Aedes Mosquito. Awareness has to be built at the individual, community, corporate and state levels to protect ourselves from the disease.
