Dengue infections keep rising

At least 248 dengue patients were hospitalised in the last 24 hours till 8am yesterday.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), among the 248 new cases, 34 are from outside the capital.

With the new cases, a total of 2,899 were diagnosed during the current month, out of the total 13,255 infected. Of the total patients, 1,284 are from outside Dhaka.

At least 7,698 were diagnosed in August, 2,286 patients in July, 272 in June, while 43 were infected in May, according to the DGHS.

Meanwhile, a total of 54 people have died of dengue infection in the country this year, all of whom died in July, August, and September.

Twelve people died in July, 34 have died in August, and eight have died in September so far.

Among the new cases, 25.4 percent patients were aged between 11 to 20, while 19 percent were aged under 10, according to DGHS data.

Among other age groups, 12.7 percent were aged between 41 and 50,11.1 percent were between 31 and 40, and 3.2 percent were aged 51 and above.

Though most of the hospitalised patients have so far been released, 1,221 are still undergoing treatment at hospitals in Dhaka, and 180 outside the capital.

Meanwhile, experts have expressed fear that dengue may spread further  if the authorities concerned do not take appropriate measures before  reopening educational institutions. They suggested cleaning schools, colleges, and universities properly to destroy Aedes mosquito larvae and breeding spots, and applying adulticide and larvicide  before reopening the institutions.

In  light of this, Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Md Atiqul Islam said  at a programme yesterday that they have initiated a three-day cleaning  drive at 443 educational institutes on September 8. He also said  though Friday was the last day of cleaning work, they will continue it till September 11 at the campuses, where the second dose of the mass  vaccination programme is also ongoing.