173 more dengue patients hospitalized in 24 hours

Bangladesh reported hospitalization of 173 new patients with Dengue fever in 24 hours till Thursday morning.

With no fresh death reported, the number of fatalities from the mosquito-borne disease this year rose to 89, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

Of the deceased, 82 people died in Dhaka division alone, two each in Chattogram and Khulna divisions and one each in Rajshahi, Barishal and Mymensingh divisions.

Among the new patients, 139 were undergoing treatment at hospitals in Dhaka while the remaining 34 cases were reported from outside the division.

Some 851 patients diagnosed with dengue are receiving treatment in the country as of Thursday.

Of them, 688 patients are receiving treatment at different hospitals in the capital while the remaining163 were listed outside Dhaka.

Since January, some 23,227 patients have been admitted to different hospitals with dengue in the country. So far, 22,287 dengue patients have left hospitals after recovery, said DGHS.

In September, the country recorded the highest number of 7,841 dengue cases of the current year with 22 deaths.

Correlation with climate change

A World Bank (WB) report released recently has found a wider link between the shifting climate conditions and the increase in dengue cases and some other diseases in Bangladesh.

It says with falling humidity levels, rising temperatures and increasing rainfall caused by climate change, the risk of dengue spread can be higher in the country, mainly in Dhaka and Chittagong cities, in the future.

Bangladesh has experienced a 0.5° Celsius increase in average temperature between 1976 and 2019 and is slowly losing the variations between seasons, the report added.

Summers are becoming hotter and longer while winters are warmer, and the monsoon seasons are being extended from February to October.

The report also predicted that average temperatures across Bangladesh will rise by 1.4° Celsius by 2050 while annual rainfall is likely to increase by 74 millimetres by 2040-2059.