The 2019 dengue outbreak in Bangladesh is a nationwide occurrence of

dengue fever Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease caused by dengue virus, prevalent in tropical and subtropical areas. Asymptomatic infections are uncommon, mild cases happen frequently; if symptoms appear, they typically begin 3 to 14 days after i ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

that began primarily in April 2019 and is still ongoing. According to Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), 14 people have died and 19,513 people have been affected as of 1 August 2019, majority of whom are children. Although other sources are reporting the death toll has already passed 50. On 1 August 2019, DGHS confirmed the outbreak affecting all districts of the country. Additionally, it reported 1,712 newly infected patients in the preceding 24 hours which is also the largest number of infected people on record in a single day. According to official source, roughly 71 more people are being infected in dengue fever every hour.

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

is the worst-hit city in the country and the districts in

Dhaka Division Dhaka Division () is an Divisions of Bangladesh, administrative division of Bangladesh. Dhaka serves as the capital city of Dhaka Division, the Dhaka District and Bangladesh. The division remains as a population magnet, and covers an area of 20, ...

are among the most affected regions. Experts feared that the situation would deteriorate as a lot of people traveled from major cities to rural areas to celebrate

Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second of the two main festivals in Islam alongside Eid al-Fitr. It falls on the 10th of Dhu al-Hijja, the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar. Celebrations and observances are generally carried forward to the ...

holidays in August. The

Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research The Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control And Research (IEDCR) () is a Bangladesh government research institute, under the Ministry of Health, responsible for researching epidemiological and communicable disease in Bangladesh as well as dise ...

(IEDCR) expects the outbreak to continue till September 2019. The Communicable Disease Control (CDC) unit of DGHS warned about the outbreak in March 2019. In January they carried out a survey in Dhaka city where they found both

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

and adult

Aedes ''Aedes'' (also known as the tiger mosquito) is a genus of mosquitoes originally found in tropical and subtropical zones, but now found on all continents except Antarctica. Some species have been spread by human activity: ''Aedes albopictus'', ...

mosquitoes in different parts of the city. Based on outcome of the survey, they alerted both city corporations about the possibility of an outbreak in upcoming months. As said by the CDC director Dr. Sanya Tahmina, they also started training the doctors and nurses from February considering the possibility of a future outbreak. In August 2019, Bangladesh Governments withdraws all tariffs on dengue test kits imports.

History

Dengue fever was first observed in Bangladesh in 2000, claimed 93 deaths in that year. After 3 years the deaths have gradually decreased to almost zero. However it struck again in 2018, killed 26 and affected 10,148 people. The previous highest of affected people prior to 2018 was 6,232 in 2002.

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Dengue Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease caused by dengue virus, prevalent in tropical and subtropical areas. Asymptomatic infections are uncommon, mild cases happen frequently; if symptoms appear, they typically begin 3 to 14 days after ...

History

See also

References