Advance warning on dengue was issued, says DGHS

The Directorate General of Health Services claims to have warned other government bodies, including the Dhaka city corporations, in advance of the possible rise in dengue cases during the monsoon.

The DGHS statement was released amidst the ongoing criticism of the city corporations for their role in controlling the mosquito menace and preventing deadly dengue fever

The DGHS had shared earlier that the fatal disease could spread beyond Dhaka, said Dr Sania Tahmina Jhora, director in DGHS, as she spoke in a press briefing on Monday.

"We could sense the disease approaching and had been warning the doctors since February so they could prepare to prevent dengue."

They conducted a survey on Aedes mosquito in March and informed the city corporations and other authorities on the issue that time, said Dr Sania.

"We updated the dengue guideline and sent the dengue test kit to all districts."

Dengue, an Aedes mosquito borne disease became rampant in Dhaka since June. It spread beyond Dhaka by the end of July. The doctors were worried as the symptoms of dengue were different this year.

Both Mayor Sayeed Khokon and Mayor Atiqul Islam faced criticism for their failure to kill mosquitoes in the city. In no other countries does a court need to issue a rule to kill mosquitoes, a High Court judge had lamented.

Mayor Sayeed Khokon has been claiming that the 'situation is under control.'  He denied the media reports on dengue cases and also said the issue is nothing but a 'rumour like that of the child abduction issue'.

On Sunday, the mayor admitted that the situation of dengue 'worsened' when he went to visit dengue patients in a city hospital.

At least 824 dengue patients were admitted in the hospitals throughout the country in 24 hours on Sunday, according to the Health Emergency Operations and Control Room of DGHS.

The hospitals in the capital are failing to provide enough space for the patients as dengue has become an epidemic. Government hospitals including Dhaka Medical College Hospital are treating patients more than their capacity.

The private hospitals are not taking additional patients than they can provide room for. Therefore, families are facing trouble with the new dengue patients.

A total of 11,654 dengue patients were hospitalised so far this year and 8,725 were released, according to DGHS.

At least 20 patients died from dengue, according to the media reports though the government puts the figure at only eight.

"The private hospitals did not provide us with the list despite repeated reminders. Maybe they are overwhelmed by the large number of dengue patients,"  said Dr Sania when asked why the real death toll and number of hospitalised patients are still not shared.

Ten teams from the DGHS will watch the hospitals from Monday to see  if they are charging the amount fixed by the government for the dengue test, DGHS said.

It has also directed all hospitals to introduce a 'dengue corner' and set up a focal point to run it.

Cautionary measures have been taken at the air and land ports.

The DGHS will run awareness campaigns about dengue in each zone of Dhaka from Thursday with the help of the medical colleges, it said in the press briefing.