Dengue cases in Bangladesh hit 80,000-mark

A total of 9,470 cases of dengue were reported in Bangladesh this month, bringing the total number of confirmed cases since January in the country to over 80,567.

The figures, reported by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) under the Ministry of Health on Saturday, showed that a total of 77,368 dengue patients returned home after receiving treatment from various hospitals across the country from January 1 to September 15 this year. A total of 527 fresh dengue cases including 156 in Dhaka were reported in the 24 hours till 8.00 a.m. local time on Sunday, the DGHS data showed, Xinhua news agency reported.

DGHS said after reviewing 101 deaths, the government's Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) confirmed 60 dengue deaths so far.

The Bangladeshi government has asked state agencies for more coordinated efforts to rein in the outbreak of the disease which is transmitted by several species of mosquitos with the genus Aedes.

A total of 52,636 cases of dengue were reported in Bangladesh in August this year, the highest in a single month since 2000.

The first case of mosquito-borne viral infection was reported in Bangladesh in 2000, and some 100 people died from the disease in 2000-2003.

Bangladesh reported 10,148 dengue cases and 26 deaths last year. IANS