High-risk of Dengue in Basabo, Goran: DGHS study

The capital city's Basabo and Goran areas have the highest prevalence of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, a carrier of dengue fever, says a survey of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) published on Sunday.

The aforesaid areas have the highest Breteau Index (BI) of 73.3, followed by the Elephant Road and Science Laboratory neighbourhoods (66.7).

The Monsoon Aedes Survey 2021 found that 11 areas in Dhaka North and Dhaka South City Corporations are at risk of increased dengue outbreaks compared to other parts of the city.

The BI, short for Breteau Index, indicates the number of positive larvae containers per 100 houses inspected. Under normal conditions, the BI of an area should be below 20.

Other areas having high BIs are Moghbazar and New Eskaton (56.7), RK Mission Road and Tikatuli (50), Bashundhara Residential Area and Nikunja (48.4), Kalyanpur and Darussalam (46.7), Mirpur 10 and Kazipara (43.3), Mohakhali and Niketan (40), Banasree (40), and Minto Road and Baily Road (40).

Households in these areas had higher Aedes aegypti Larval Indices.

20 teams from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) of DGHS conducted the survey at 100 sites in 98 wards of Dhaka North and Dhaka South City areas from 29 July to 7 August.

Aftabnagar and Merul Badda of Ward-37 in Dhaka North, and Bangshal of Ward-35 in Dhaka South had a zero BI, suggesting the lowest possible risk of dengue infection in these neighbourhoods.

According to the survey, the highest number of containers with larvae, 44.2%, were found in multi-storey buildings, 25% in single buildings, 18.2% in under construction buildings, 9.7% in slum areas, and 3% in vacant lands.

The findings were presented in the Monsoon Aedes Survey 2021 dissemination workshop, by Afsana Alamgir Khan, deputy programme manager of Malaria & Vector Borne Disease Control.

291 dengue cases reported in a day

A total of 291 fresh dengue cases were reported across the country in the last 24 hours till Sunday 8am.

Among them, 259 were admitted to different hospitals in Dhaka, and 32 outside the capital, says a press release of the Health Crisis Management and Control Room of DGHS.

A total of 1,218 dengue patients are undergoing treatment at different hospitals and clinics across the country. Of them, 1,131 patients are undergoing treatment in Dhaka division and 87 are hospitalised outside Dhaka, according to the aforementioned press release.

The Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) has reported 36 dengue deaths so far.