Bangladesh has recorded a spike in dengue fever cases since August with 52 deaths and 11,816 cases registered so far this year.
The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said six people had died of dengue and 1,460 people were found infected in the first five days of September.
At present, 1,260 people are being treated in different hospitals across the country. Of these, 1,131 are admitted to 41 hospitals in Dhaka.
“Capital Dhaka and its nearby districts are now more vulnerable to the risk of dengue,” said Dr. Afreena Mahmood, director, planning of DGHS.
Mahmood told UCA News that local municipal bodies like the city corporation of Dhaka had been asked to take necessary steps to tackle dengue. People were being made aware to protect themselves from the mosquito-borne viral infection.
Saiful Islam’s 12-year-old daughter has been in Dhaka’s Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital for the last four days.
Dengue can be prevented only if the government undertakes big projects in cooperation with the people to build a beautiful and clean city
“Every year dengue strikes and our governments and people’s representatives say the same thing. The city corporation takes taxes from us but hasn’t been able to tackle the mosquito menace as yet,” 53-year-old Islam told UCA News.
An elected councilor of Dhaka South City Corporation said on condition of anonymity that it was not possible to eradicate mosquitoes with the limited budgetary provisions they had.
Only distributing mosquito repellents will not help. What was needed was a total clean-up of the cities filled with garbage bins and stagnant pools of dirty water. Only then it would be possible to control dengue, he said.
“Dengue can be prevented only if the government undertakes big projects in cooperation with the people to build a beautiful and clean city.”
Thank you. You are now signed up to Daily newsletter
The Catholic Church has undertaken an awareness-building program to control the spread of dengue.
“We are spreading awareness about household prevention measures like keeping the house clean so that no water accumulates in the yards etc.,” Dr. Edward Pallab Rozario, director of health at Caritas Bangladesh, told UCA News.
Rozario, also the vice-president of the Christian Medical Association of Bangladesh, an interdenominational medical personal platform, said they were providing free services to neighborhoods through mobile units and online platforms about the prevention of mosquitoes breeding and personal protection from mosquito bites.
Credit: Source link
