Dengue in Bangladesh caused by intermittent rains, says IEDCR

Bangladesh has witnessed a sharp rise of the mosquito-borne dengue fever as a result of the intermittent rains, says the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control & Research (IEDCR).

It says the intermittent rains leads to a proliferartion of breeding ground for mosquitos that carry dengue.

The IEDCR recorded 583 dengue cases in August compared to only 156 in July.

Of the tally of more than 750 recorded cases this year, three people have died.

Usually June to September is the dengue season . In August this year, there has been at least 100 more dengue cases than in the same month last year.

Director of the IEDCR Mahmudur Rahman told bdnews24.com that intermittent rains have exacerbated the incidence of dengue fever .

“It can also be due to increasing reporting. We are collecting records from more hospitals this year than last year. But the trend is upward,” he said, advising people not to panic.

Rahman explains that continuous rains wash away the outside breeding pools of mosquito.

But this year, rains have been intermittent after an initial heavy monsoon and that leads to water logging .

The dengue-causing aedes aegypti mosquito usually breeds in a small collection of clean water in and around houses, such as inside a flower vase.

The symptoms of dengue are sudden high fever, severe headache, pains behind the eyes, muscle and joints.

The severity of the joint pain has given dengue the name ‘breakbone fever’.

Authorities earlier campaigned in Dhaka at the beginning of the monsoon.

The first case this year was reported in June and three people have been died of dengue so far.

When it was reported in early 2000s, the dengue fever baffled doctors and became a cause for great concern.

But it subsequently became a seasonal phenomenon with doctors working with proper guidelines and people becoming more aware of the disease.

Doctors, however, say inappropriate management can trigger fatal bleeding, advising people not to take medicines other than paracetamol without prescriptions during fever.