Dengue has spread from house to house in Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj, with several members of the same family falling ill at once. Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) recorded 23 dengue deaths between 1 January and 11 November this year.
Ten of the dead were from Chapainawabganj, about 43 per cent of the total, and six from Rajshahi. Two each came from Natore and Kushtia and one each from Pabna, Jhenaidah and Sirajganj, so the two districts together account for 16 deaths, about 70 per cent. Hospital spokesman Dr Sheikh Shamim Ahmed said 179 dengue patients are now admitted; 55 were admitted in the past 24 hours and 60 went home recovered.
In Chapainawabganj the outbreak has become a public health crisis. Health department figures show 3,111 people admitted to hospital with dengue in the district between 1 January and 5 November, and another 2,403 diagnosed in outpatient departments. Officially 15 people have died in the district, though residents say the real number is higher.
A survey by IEDCR found Aedes larvae in 54 of 150 homes checked in Chapainawabganj municipality, more than one in three. Poor drainage and waterlogging have left the 250-bed district hospital so crowded that patients are being treated on floors and in corridors.
Aedes is spreading alarmingly in Rajshahi city too. Under the World Health Organization standard, a Breteau index above 20 marks an area as high risk; surveys in parts of the city found an index of 61.33.
Chapainawabganj municipality and the district administration have launched special measures. Deputy Commissioner Abu Saleh Md Musa said eight teams are destroying larvae and raising awareness in the municipality, and imams are spreading the message in mosques. On the orders of Rajshahi City Corporation administrator Mahfuzur Rahman Riton, fogging and clean-up drives have been stepped up across the city's wards under a three-month programme, and residents have been asked to keep their own yards clean. The report is by Dulal Abdullah of Dhaka Tribune.
Photo: Army Medicine / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Source: Dhaka Tribune
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