Dengue death toll crosses 200 in Bangladesh this year amid severe outbreak

Dhaka, Jul 26 (EFE).- The number of deaths caused by dengue in Bangladesh has gone past 200 this year, according to the latest figures released on Wednesday by authorities, who are trying to respond to one of the deadliest outbreaks of the virus since the country began tracking cases.

At least 14 people died by the viral disease in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of deaths in 2023 to 215, the directorate general of health services said.

The mosquito-borne virus has killed 165 people just in July according to authorities.

This is the second time that Bangladesh has witnessed more than 200 deaths by the disease in a single year since records began to be kept officially in 2000, following a record 281 deaths in 2022.

In the last 24 hours, 2,653 people were hospitalized due to the disease, taking the total number of admissions this year to around 40,000, although the real number of infections is estimated to be much higher.

“Climate change is partially responsible for the high number of cases this year,” Afroza Sultana, an entomologist and associate professor at Dhaka’s Jagannath University, told EFE.

She added that the larvae of the Aedes mosquito – responsible for transmitting dengue – were maturing at a faster rate.

Dengue, a mosquito-borne viral infection that causes flu-like illness, is transmitted by female mosquitoes, mainly of the Aedes species.

The symptoms of the potentially deadly disease include headaches, muscle and joint pains, and body rashes.

In Bangladesh, dengue cases generally begin to rise in July and subsequently drop in October, although experts have increasingly warned that factors such as climate changed, unplanned urbanization and mismanagement of water supply could lead to greater instances of the disease occurring for longer periods. EFE

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