Helemul Alam

Mohammad Kawsar Hossain, 65, a resident of Jhenaidah, has been undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital since Saturday, after he was admitted with dengue.

Jamal Hossain was having a moment of rest as his children -- Yasin, 8, and Fatima, 10, -- had started feeling better yesterday afternoon, four days after they were both admitted to Mugda Medical College Hospital with dengue.

At least 2,944 dengue patients were hospitalised across the country yesterday, pushing the total number of infections to 151,272.

Breaking the trend of infections, dengue cases have been on the rise for the last three consecutive years.

At a time when the country is already grappling with a record outbreak of dengue fever, the current active monsoon conditions may contribute to the further spread of the mosquito-borne disease this month, say experts.

The country yesterday recorded the second-highest daily fatalities with 20 more deaths as a month-wise comparison shows a spike in the death toll.

The rate of dengue infection keeps rising outside the capital with Chattogram reporting the highest number of hospitalisation.

Mohammad Yasin, a resident of Faridpur’s Boalmari, was admitted to a hospital in his hometown after being diagnosed with dengue seven days ago.

With four new deaths recorded yesterday, dengue fatalities this year rose to 597, which is more than double compared to the previous record since the mosquito-borne disease’s first official outbreak in 2000.

2019 was a watershed for dengue, with the highest number of cases ever reported globally. For Bangladesh too, it was a loud wake-up call, with record caseload and deaths. But the government continued with its slumber.

In 2010, Kolkata city had faced its worst dengue outbreak -- an event that prompted the municipality to draw up a definitive plan to control the menace.

Amid the ongoing dengue outbreak, a recent data released by the Directorate General of Health Services has revealed a stark contrast in the impact of the  mosquito-borne disease on men and women.

Around 56.79 percent of the 71 dengue patients, who passed away between August 20 and August 26, died of shock syndrome while 10.4 percent died of expanded dengue syndrome, according to data of the Directorate General of Health Services.

In the corridors of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), amidst the relentless wave of patients, Shapla Biswas, a nurse and a mother to an eleven-month-old, finds herself navigating the balance between duty and motherhood.

Almost 35 percent of the people who died from dengue are aged between 21 and 40 years, according to the health directorate data.

With 2,192 new patients admitted to hospitals yesterday, dengue cases hit a record high since its first official outbreak in 2000, crossing the 1,00,000-threshold in eight months this year.

For the first time in the country’s history, dengue cases outside Dhaka district have outnumbered cases inside the district, raising an alarm that the situation may worsen outside Dhaka.

While the country’s health services are already struggling to cope with the dengue influx, other viral fevers and waterborne diseases are further aggravating the situation.

Intermittent rainfall may deteriorate the dengue situation as new breeding sources will be created in absence of immediate necessary measures, said experts.

As rising numbers of dengue patients strain hospitals across the country, a government survey in Gazipur and Narayanganj has found numerous breeding grounds of Aedes mosquitos.