Jahangirnagar University student dies of dengue

A student of Jahangirnagar University has died from dengue in a Dhaka hospital as the mosquito-borne disease is resurging in Bangladesh amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Ranjit Das Chauhan, 23, a student of philosophy at the university, breathed his last while undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital at 1:30 am on Monday.
 
Ranjit, a native of Cumilla, was the general secretary of the university’s Cine Society, a cultural forum.
 
"Ranjit was taken to Cumilla Medical College after he fell ill on Sunday. He was diagnosed with dengue and doctors advised shifting him to DMCH after his condition deteriorated," said Mazharul Islam Saikat, former vice-president of the JU Cine Society.  
 
"He was referred to DMCH's ICU unit. His blood platelet count was below 5,000," Saikat added.
 
"Ranjit had been staying in Cumilla since the COVID-19 outbreak began to spread in Bangladesh. He recently visited Dhaka and might have got infected due to the mosquito bites in the capital as the presence of Aedes mosquito larvae has not yet been reported in Cumilla," said Dr Kabirul Bashar, a professor of zoology.
 
The daily hospitalisation rate of dengue patients is rising again. In the 24 hours to 8am on Monday, 21 patients with the mosquito-borne disease were hospitalised, taking the total number this year to 867, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.
 
At least five people died from the illness until Nov 15. The IEDCR linked two deaths to dengue.