Dengue kills 101 as Bangladesh stares at major outbreak

Nineteen people died in the first 10 days of August alone, following 41 deaths in July, more than double June’s toll of 19. Hospitals in Dhaka and other major cities are under pressure, while rural facilities with limited intensive care capacity are also struggling.

“The situation is critical. The virus is already widespread across the country, and without aggressive intervention, hospitals will be overwhelmed,” Prof Kabirul Bashar, an entomologist at Jahangirnagar University, told Reuters news agency. “August could see at least three times as many cases as July, with numbers potentially peaking in September.”

He urged nationwide mosquito-control drives involving fumigation, community clean-up, and removal of stagnant water, a breeding ground for Aedes mosquitoes, the carriers of dengue virus.

Experts say a combination of warm, humid weather, intermittent rainfall, and climate change has created ideal conditions for the insects to breed and spread the disease.

In addition to the hotspot of Dhaka, large numbers of cases are being reported in Barishal, Chattogram, Khulna, and Rajshahi divisions.

Many critically ill patients from rural areas are transferred to Dhaka hospitals but often arrive too late for effective treatment.

Dr HM Nazmul Ahsan, associate professor at the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital in Dhaka, said a rising number of deaths were linked to the Expanded Dengue Syndrome, a severe form of the illness known to damage vital organs such as the liver, brain, heart, kidneys, and the central nervous system.

“These patients can deteriorate rapidly and die suddenly due to severe complications,” he told the Daily Star, noting that people with conditions like hypertension, diabetes and chronic lung or kidney diseases were particularly vulnerable.

Symptoms of dengue

Common warning signs include severe abdominal pain, difficulty breathing, bleeding, extreme weakness and a sharp drop in urination or platelet count. Dr Ahsan advised immediate hospital admission for such symptoms and early admission for the elderly, pregnant women and those with underlying health issues.

Public health expert Dr Mushtaq Hussain called for restructuring dengue care into primary, secondary and tertiary levels, and for strengthening district hospitals so that only stabilised critical cases were referred to Dhaka.

He also recommended expanding access to affordable testing, more blood collection centres, and improved secondary care to reduce the burden on major city hospitals, the Daily Star reported.

Bangladesh’s deadliest year for dengue was 2023, when 1,705 people died and more than 321,000 were hospitalised. In 2024, there were 575 deaths and over 101,000 cases.

Authorities fear this year’s outbreak could rival or exceed those numbers unless preventive measures are intensified.