The Ministry of Health will open one-stop center at public hospitals in Dhaka and across the country to deal with the rising number of dengue affected patients.
It will also provide free dengue examination for the public at the government hospitals.
Admitting the matter, Director General of Health Prof Dr Abul Kalam Azad said that one-stop center would be opened at all the public hospitals within two or three days to ensure treatment of dengue patients.
Dengue-affected patients have already burdened both government and private hospitals in Dhaka following an alarming outbreak of dengue in the capital.
DGHS data show 9,256 people have so far been infected with dengue between January 1 and yesterday (Thursday), and 179 of them were from outside Dhaka.
On Thursday, 547 new dengue cases were reported at the hospitals in Dhaka.
The numbers could be higher as many dengue cases go unreported, according to health officials.
They said the number of dengue-affected patients is likely to hit a new record this year if the current trend of affected people continues.
In 2018, a total of 10,000 dengue cases reported in the hospitals. “The incidence of dengue is higher this year than that of the previous year. Dengue is mostly found in urban and semi-urban areas,” said Prof Dr Abul Kalam Azad.
He said about 6,220 dengue affected people have returned home after receiving medical treatment at the government and private hospital. At present, a total of 2,322 patients are being admitted in hospitals across the country, including the capital.
“The Health Department has already taken all-out preparation to deal with rising number of dengue patients. Free dengue test will be carried out at public hospitals for the convenience of people,” said Prof Dr Abul Kalam Azad.
Earlier, the DGHS provided training to some 2,000 doctors to deal with the dengue outbreak this year.
But an anonymous official at DG Health told The New Nation yesterday that the doctors outside the capital are facing huge difficulty to deal with dengue patients, as they did not have the NS1 kit to diagnose dengue instantly.
