Dengue cases in Bangladesh this year cross 300,000 amid worst outbreak

Another 1,291 cases and six deaths were reported in the 24 hours to Sunday morning

The number of dengue cases recorded in Bangladesh so far in 2023 has crossed the 300,000 mark amid the worst outbreak of the disease.

The Directorate General of Health Services reported 1,291 new cases of dengue fever in the latest daily count, taking the tally of infections this year to 301,255.

The death toll increased to 1,549, with six fatalities in the 24 hours to Sunday morning.

In Dhaka, hospitals admitted 247 dengue patients in this period while the other districts recorded 1,044 new cases. The death toll outside the capital was four.

Of the 4,949 dengue patients undergoing treatment in hospitals across the country in the morning, 1,127 were in Dhaka and 3,722 outside the capital.

After a record 79,598 dengue cases and 396 deaths in September amid the worst outbreak of the disease, 67,769 cases and 359 deaths were reported in October. The number of cases in August was 71,976, with 342 deaths.

The death toll in the first 19 days of November was 201. As many as 30,080 new dengue cases have been recorded in this period.

Experts have blamed a prolonged monsoon and rising temperature, along with a lack of effective measures to kill the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the known carrier of the virus, for the outbreak.