Dhaka [Bangladesh], August 28 : Bangladesh has reported eight more deaths from dengue in the past 24 hours till Monday morning, resulting in a number of fatalities from the mosquito-borne disease in the country reaching 556 this year, Bangladesh-based Dhaka Tribune reported.
During this period, 2,331 more patients were admitted to hospital with viral fever, Dhaka Tribune reported citing the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Of the new patients, 918 were hospitalised in Dhaka and the rest of the patients were admitted in other areas, the DGHS said.
As many as 8,212 dengue patients, including 3,913 in Dhaka, are now undergoing treatment at hospitals nationwide, according to a Dhaka Tribune report. So far, the DGHS has recorded 116,842 dengue cases and 108,074 recoveries.
Bangladesh registered 281 dengue deaths in 2022. It is the highest on record after 179 deaths were recorded in 2019, Dhaka Tribune reported. In 2022, Bangladesh recorded 62,423 dengue cases and 61,971 recoveries.
Meanwhile, UNICEF is extending medical support worth USD 2.25 million to Bangladesh to contain the dengue outbreak, reported Dhaka Tribune.
UNICEF will provide urgently needed testing kits and training of professionals, along with other critical supplies and services in the health, water, sanitation, and hygiene sectors. Furthermore, the dengue outbreak has now spread to 64 districts, according to Dhaka Tribune report.
On Sunday, UNICEF representative to Bangladesh, Sheldon Yett, said, "Once again, children in Bangladesh are at the frontlines of climate change as the dengue crisis here escalates."
Furthermore, Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam, director general of the Directorate General of Health Services said, "The government of Bangladesh is undertaking a timely and effective response to the ongoing dengue situation in the country. The need of the hour is for the communities to ensure that mosquitoes do not breed in their houses and take all precautionary measures to ward away mosquitoes."
“We are providing testing kits, medical supplies, mosquito nets, and we are also working with the city corporation and relevant bodies to eliminate vector breeding sites," he added.
The UNICEF is also engaging communities raising awareness about dengue prevention and taking necessary preventive measures, reported Dhaka Tribune. The organization has supported the government in reaching over 50 million people through information at mass gatherings and social media about protection from dengue in the past month.
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