Bangladesh is seeing a sharp rise in dengue cases, with all four virus serotypes circulating as authorities consider vaccine trials and strengthen hospitals and public awareness efforts.
Bangladesh is battling its worst dengue outbreak. According to health ministry data, more than 90,350 people have been hospitalised with dengue and 281 have died since the beginning of the year.
According to Reuters, “As the outbreak has intensified, in October alone, 10,736 people have been hospitalised and 36 people have died in a country whose healthcare system is also under severe pressure from a measles outbreak that has killed more than 1,100 children.”
Bangladesh is considering carrying out clinical trials of a vaccine against dengue fever after thousands of patients have been hospitalised with the disease and hundreds have died.
The Bangladesh government has also stepped up hospital facilities across the country. According to State Minister for Health M.A. Muhit, all four variants of the virus had been detected, which makes it more likely that people will be repeatedly infected, as immunity to one variant, or serotype, does not make them immune to the other three.
“With all four dengue serotypes now circulating in Bangladesh, we are considering conducting vaccine trials in the country,” Muhit was quoted as saying by Reuters.
A three-month nationwide special digital awareness campaign to prevent dengue was started last month, in September.
The deadliest outbreak of dengue in Bangladesh happened in 2023, when more than 1,700 people died. Recent downpours have left standing water that mosquitoes thrive in, stoking fears of a worsening dengue outbreak. Transmitted through mosquito bites, the infection typically causes fever and severe muscle and joint aches.
Dengue: Symptoms, Risks And Warning Signs
According to the World Health Organization, dengue fever is one of the top 10 global health threats. It is also the most rapidly spreading. There has been a 30-fold increase in global incidence over the past 50 years. It is primarily transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
Common symptoms of dengue include fever, rash, nausea, and aches and pains, lasting up to a week. Some people with dengue develop complications that can result in internal bleeding, shock and even death. Severe dengue requires careful monitoring in hospital.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Symptoms of dengue can become severe within a few hours. Severe dengue is a medical emergency.”
