Patients from across the country are coming to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) for treatment during the dengue outbreak, yet standing water, rubbish and dirty conditions in parts of the hospital are raising the risk of mosquito breeding and the spread of germs, according to an on-the-spot report by Bangla Tribune.
Just inside the outpatient entrance, water stands in open drains and pits, in discarded coconut shells, in tea cups and in water dripping from air conditioners. Water beside the children's ward smells and has mosquitoes. On the third floor of one building, a leaking washroom pipe is spilling toilet waste onto a walkway.
Entomologist Professor Kabirul Bashar said Aedes breeding in a hospital is especially dangerous because so many patients are treated there. Aedes lay eggs in both clear and dirty standing water, but not in moving water; larvae can appear within three days, and it takes about seven days from egg to adult. He advised that every hospital compound be checked at least once a week and standing water removed.
Mosammat Asiya, who brought her son with dengue, said people come hoping to get well, but in such conditions they fear getting sicker; someone treated for another illness could catch dengue. Mohammad Arif, staying with his wife, said waste had been leaking from the pipe for two days and nothing had been done despite telling the cleaners.
Hospital director Brigadier General Md Asaduzzaman said patient numbers far exceed capacity and relatives stay with them, making cleanliness hard to maintain under such pressure. Cleaning is continuing, he said, the pipe will be fixed quickly, and problems around the hospital are being identified and dealt with.
Reporting: Salma Akter Sarmin, Bangla Tribune
Photo: A.M.R. / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5)
Source: Bangla Tribune
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