Death toll from dengue crosses 200

At least six more people died of dengue on Tuesday and Wednesday with the total death tally reaching 203, the latest casualty of the six was yet to be recorded by the government.

The Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research said that it received reports of 197 suspected deaths due to dengue.

Since January, 78,617 dengue patients were hospitalized across the country, 634 of them in 24 hours ending 8am Wednesday.

According to IEDCR, this year most of the patients were infected with dengue virus serotype DEN 3.

Until 2018, most of dengue patients in  Bangladesh were infected with DEN 1 and DEN 2.

IEDCR studies found that this year 89 per cent of the country’s patients were infected with DEN 3.

The IEDCR studies found that this year, the country’s 1.47 per cent dengue patients were infected with DEN 1 and 0.59 per cent with DEN 2.

No case of infection by DEN 4 was reported until now.

At least 5.29 per cent of the patients were co-infected by serotypes DEN 2 and DEN 3 and 3.82 per cent was co-infected by DEN 1 and DEN 3.

IEDCR study found 63 per cent of the infected patients were males and 37 per cent were females.

This year, at least 28 per cent of dengue patients was in the 15-25 age bracket, 21 per cent was in 25-35 age group and 17 per cent in the 5-15 age bracket and 11 per cent in the 35-45 age slab.

Students and service holders accounted for 37 per cent of dengue patients each.

IEDCR conducted three studies at three sites,  Barishal and Kushtia districts and Gangni upazila in  Meherpur  to find out the epidemiological determinants of dengue in Bangladesh. The sites were selected for hosting greater number of dengue patients.

In a case control study in Gangni, Meherpur, IEDCR identified 237 mosquitoes and 116 of them were aedes.

Of the 116 mosquitoes, 78 were Aedes albopictus and four were Aedes aegypti.

In Barishal, IEDCR conducted survey in 120 households in six wards and 300 patients and found that six households  had larvae in containers and larvae in containers at 19 establishments.

IEDCR collected the larvae and hatched 755 adult mosquitoes in its labs  and of them 14 were aedes, seven were Aedes albopictus and  seven others were of other aedes species but not Aedes aegypti.

In Chatarpara village, Kushtia, where 31 people  suffered from dengue this year, IEDCR surveyed all the 71 households and collected aedes larvae.

After hatching 21 mosquitoes at IEDCR labs it found 14 of them were Aedes albopictus.

Of the dengue patients in the village, 32.3 per cent were known for travel history including to the capital and Jashore just two weeks before they were infected with dengue.

IEDCR director Dr Meerjady Sabrina Flora called the findings as ‘preliminary’.

She said there were friendly habitats for both Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti in the three sub urban areas.

Aedes albopictus usually lives in rural areas and breeds in water in tree holes while Aedes aegypti lives in urban areas and breeds in small water filled containers.

Flora told New Age that Aedes aegypti which were found in Gangni of Meherpur might have travelled with people in transports.

She said that dengue infected patients  are carriers of dengue virus.

 Aedes albopictus infects people by biting them while Aedes albopictus is known as the secondary vector of dengue virus but Aedes aegypti is a primary vector of the virus.

She said that controlling aedes in rural or semi urban settings is quite tough due to their obvious  environmental composition.

Insecticide use in the rural areas might bring bad consequence including on the children and the ecology, she said.

On Wednesday, two dengue patients died in the capital and Jashore , four others died on Tuesday in Khulna, Mymensingh, Faridpur and Kushtia.

In Dhaka Medical College Hospital, two year old Khadiza died of dengue at about 4:45pm on Wednesday, about an hour after her admission.

She was admitted to Mugda Medical College Hospital on September 7 from where she was referred to the DMCH Wednesday afternoon, said her father Ismail Hossain of Munshiganj.

New Age correspondent in Jashore reported that Jahida Begum, 35, wife of Abdul Kader of Hanuar village in Monirampur upazila, died of dengue at Jashore General Hospital at around 6:25am on Wednesday.

New Age correspondent in Mymensingh, quoting Mymensingh Medical College Hospital assistant director Shamsuzzaman Selim, reported that Fatema Khatun, 50, of Hossainpur in Kishoreganj who was admitted with dengue on September 3 died at the MMCH intensive care unit Tuesday morning.

New Age correspondent at Islamic University in Kushtia, quoting Bheramara upazila health and family planning officer Nurul Amin, reported that Mina Khatun, 25, of Kazihata under Bheramara in Kushtia was admitted to the upazila health complex with dengue on September 6 and she died Tuesday morning.

In Faridpur, Siddikur Rahman, 55, of village Kabirajpur under Raipur in Madaripur who was referred to Faridpur Medical College Hospital from Raipur upazila health complex Monday afternoon with dengue and he died at the hospital early Tuesday, said civil surgeon Enamul Haque.

In Khulna, 50-year old dengue patient Rahima Begum died at Khulna Medical College Hospital on Tuesday night, reports United News of Bangladesh.

Rahima and her husband Rafiqul Islam came from Azrail, Tala, Satkhira.

KMCH resident medical officer Sailendranath Biswas said Rahima was hospitalised on Monday and that she died at around 11:30pm.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net