Number of dengue patients hospitalised across Bangladesh declines

The daily rate of hospitalisation for dengue fever across Bangladesh continues to fall as more and more patients return home after recovery.

At least 95 percent patients have already been discharged by hospitals, according to the directorate’s Health Emergency Operations Centre and Control Room.

The number of hospitalised dengue patients in the 24 hours to Tuesday morning was 3,746, including 2,111 in Dhaka and 1,635 elsewhere in the country.

The figure was 3,931 on Sept 1, down from more than 5,000 just a couple of days earlier on Aug 29.

"The number of people afflicted with dengue has markedly declined," Professor Dr ABM Abdullah, a dengue specialist, told bdnews24.com.

After the ongoing outbreak started in early June, Bangladesh recorded the highest ever number of patients hospitalised for dengue in August.

After Aug 21, the number of hospitalised dengue patients has gradually decreased.

"Some risks may have remained. But we all are aware now. I don't think that it's a cause for concern,” Dr Abdullah said. 

Dr Abdullah has been working on the matter since 2000 when the mosquito-borne virus first broke out in Bangladesh.  

According to the Directorate General of Health Services, a total of 72,745 dengue patients received treatment at hospitals throughout the country so far in 2019. Of them, 68,811 patients returned home after treatment.

A total of 784 new patients were admitted to hospitals across Bangladesh in the 24 hours to Tuesday morning. The figure was 865 on Monday, and 902 on Sunday. 

The government has confirmed 57 deaths from dengue this year, but accounts obtained by bdnews24.com of authorities and doctors of different hospitals have put the toll at 190.