Dengue is on the rise outside Dhaka, govt updates deaths to 18

The government has updated the number of deaths from dengue so far this year to 18 as hundreds of patients continued to be hospitalised with the number of new cases rising outside the capital.

The total number of dengue patients admitted to different hospitals across Bangladesh in the 24 hours to Saturday morning was 1,649.

The new cases have put the number of people diagnosed with dengue at 22,919 so far this year, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.

The directorate says the death toll in dengue this year has increased to 18, though the media already reported more than 50 fatal cases.  

The rate of new dengue cases in the epicentre of the outbreak, Dhaka, continued to decrease.

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It was 969 in the 24 hours to Saturday morning, a slight drop from 996 in the same period to Friday morning and 1,150 to Thursday morning.

The rate also dropped outside the capital from 691 to 680, but the new cases made the number of total dengue cases outside Dhaka so far this year to 4,905.

On Saturday, 6,858 dengue patients are receiving treatment in different hospitals across Bangladesh, including 2,381 outside Dhaka.

Only a few cases had been reported outside the capital when the ongoing bout affected thousands in Dhaka in the beginning.

The authorities are taking special measures to contain the outbreak of the mosquito-borne viral disease outside Dhaka with the Eid-ul-Azha holidays only nine days away.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to leave the capital during Eid for their home, potentially raising the risk of taking the virus in huge numbers in their blood, while buses, trains, vessels and even aircraft can carry mosquitos, according to experts.