Editorial Desk :
A report published in The New Nation on Saturday said 129 dengue patients were hospitalised in city during the 24 hours till the morning of Thursday including 26 from outside Dhaka, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). With the new cases, the total number of dengue patients this year rose to above 26 thousand while a total of 2,371 have been diagnosed during the running month. Of the total infected, 3,963 are from outside Dhaka. We see that the highest number of dengue patients were reported in September this year, terribly threatening public health as the cases of Covid-19 slowed and deaths from the pandemic fell significantly. It appears that we must equally concentrate on fighting the outbreak of dengue which also poses a big threat to human life.
According to the DGHS, 98 people died so far due to dengue this year. Twelve died in July while 34 died in August, 23 died in September, 22 in October and seven in November so far. At least 5,458 were diagnosed with dengue in October. The diagnosed cases grew to 7841 in September, from 272 in June and 43 in May. The report said dengue remains distinctly visible all over the country although its prevalence was supposed to drop ahead of the winter. The hospitals are still admitting over 100 dengue cases per day. Since January, some 25,897 patients have been admitted to different hospitals.
We must say our hospitals must be properly equipped with treatment facilities while health and city corporation workers at all levels must run cleanliness drives at every neighborhood to keep localities free of water deposits in potholes, in home compounds and construction sites. Aedes mosquitoes that spread the disease breed in such places. Health officials must watch over the city corporation officials who reportedly buy ineffective or time expired medicine to spray for the control of mosquitoes. The corruption has made public service by officials most unreliable and there is nobody to see the public services. Voteless people are helpless people and die helplessly. Some 555 patients diagnosed with dengue are currently receiving treatment in the country as of Thursday.
