The dengue death toll has climbed to 106 this year after seven more patients died in the last 24 hours, surpassing last year’s count late into autumn.
Dengue claimed 164 lives in 2019, the highest annual tally recorded in Bangladesh, while 105 people died in 2021, according to government data. No data was available for 2020, reports bdnews24.com.
The health directorate reported eight deaths on Oct 13 as the highest number of daily casualties this year so far.
All the patients who died in the last 24 hours were from Dhaka and five were under care at Square Hospital.
As many as 864 people were hospitalised, 565 of them in the capital, with the disease, taking the tally to 27,802 this year. The reported figures leave out those who chose not to receive hospital treatment.
The Chattogram division reported 96 hospitalisations with dengue in the past 24 hours, 58 cases in other districts of the Dhaka division, 13 in Mymensingh, 40 in Khulna, 43 in Rajshahi, 42 in Barishal and seven in Sylhet.
A total of 3,304 dengue patients are currently receiving hospital care in Bangladesh with 2,247 in Dhaka.
Of the 106 deaths, 62 were in Dhaka hospitals and 35 in Khulna, and 51 people died in the first 18 days of October after 34 deaths were logged in September.
The arrival of the rainy season is accompanied by a surge of Aedes mosquito-borne dengue cases. However, rains have continued late into autumn this year after a dry monsoon, and the dengue cases continued growing.
The Directorate General of Health Services said as many as 11,710 people were diagnosed with the disease in October so far while 9,911 people received hospital treatment in September.