27 wards of Dhaka at high risk of dengue: DGHS survey

At least 27 wards of Dhaka city are at high risk of dengue, found a new survey by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

Among the wards, 13 are in Dhaka North City Corporation and 14 in Dhaka South City Corporation, said Health Secretary Dr Anwar Hossain Hawlader, presenting the survey report at a press conference in the capital on Wednesday.

He said 12% of the houses in these wards have the highest prevalence of Aedes mosquitoes that spread dengue.

Also speaking at the conference, Professor Dr Nazmul Islam, director of Communicable Disease Control at DGHS, said the monsoon survey was done between 11 and 23 August, of 1,319 households in 40 wards of Dhaka North and 1,830 households in 58 wards of Dhaka South.

The survey found that Aedes mosquitoes were present in 45.2% of multi-storied buildings, 24.8% of under-construction buildings, 20.3% of independent houses, 6.8% of slums or semi-pucca houses, and 2.8% of vacant plots under Dhaka North.

In Dhaka South, the mosquitoes were found in 33.0% of multi-storied buildings, 27% of independent houses, 12.1% of slums, and 5.1% of vacant plots.

Health Secretary Anwar said, "We are nurturing dengue. Apart from plastics, we leave containers and water bottles everywhere where water accumulates. We all need to be more conscious about cleanliness."

Stagnant accumulated water can serve as a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes which transmit diseases like dengue, malaria, and other life-threatening vector-borne diseases.

The health secretary said, "Many people question what the health ministry is doing to eradicate dengue, but it is not only our work. We provide healthcare. We must all work together to reduce the spread of dengue."

He continued, "The city corporations are working to eradicate dengue. However, the environment ministry also has a role to play in this regard.

"No one can solve it alone. The responsibility also falls upon communities who need to make sure that water does not accumulate on the garden roofs of residential areas in particular."

Director General of DGHS, Professor Dr Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam, said currently hospitals are facing more non-Covid patients than were able to receive treatment during the onslaught of Covid-19. 

"And so, treating dengue patients has become very challenging. We do not want any deaths, so everyone should work to prevent dengue," he said.