27 wards of two Dhaka city corps facing dengue threat

While Dhaka as elsewhere reels from mosquito menace, as many as 27 wards under its two city corporations are facing the risk of a worsening dengue outbreak recently as the menace of Aedes mosquito is on the peak in those areas.

The risky wards of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) are 1, 11, 14, 16, 19, 20, 21, 24, 28, 33, 34, 35 and 39 while the wards of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) are 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 24, 34, 38, 39, 41, 42, 48 and 51.

The information was disclosed in a report of the joint monsoon survey conducted by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and the two city corporations on Wednesday.

DGHS Director (Disease Control) Dr Md Nazmul Islam presented the report at the directorate in Dhaka, said, "Compared to the last two years, the occurrence of dengue disease in the country is slightly lower this year, but that is not enough."

It was revealed in the report that some 27 wards of two city corporations of Dhaka are more vulnerable to dengue menace as about 12 percent residences of the aforesaid areas have high spread of Aedes mosquitoes, he mentioned. 

The density of mosquitoes was highest in ward number-8 (Kamalapur and Motijheel), Ward no. 38 (Nawabpur and Bangshal) and ward no. 41 (Wari and Narinda), he said.

Another dengue patient died in 24 hours till Wednesday morning, raising this year’s death toll from the mosquito-borne disease in Bangladesh to 46.

During this period, 431 more patients were hospitalised with the viral fever as cases have continued to increase, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

The latest death was reported from Chattogram division raising the death in the division to 21.

The dengue death toll in Dhaka division remained unchanged at 21 and in Barishal division at four.

Of the new patients, 328 were admitted to different hospitals in Dhaka and 103 outside it.

A total of 1,557 dengue patients, including 1,190 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.

On June 21, the DGHS reported the first death of the season from the viral disease.

This year, the directorate has recorded 12,438 dengue cases and 10,835 recoveries so far.