Dengue cases keep rising: 127 more hospitalised
Bangladesh reported 127 new patients being hospitalised with dengue fever in 24 hours till Sunday morning.
With no fresh death during the period, the number of fatalities from the mosquito-borne disease this year remained unchanged at 95, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Of them 87 people died in Dhaka division alone, two each in Chattogram, Mymensingh and Khulna divisions and one each in Rajshahi and Barishal divisions.
Among the new patients, 95 were undergoing treatment in hospitals in Dhaka while the remaining 32 cases were reported from outside the division.
Some 692 patients diagnosed with dengue are receiving treatment in the country as of Sunday.
Of them, 552 patients are receiving treatment at different hospitals in the capital while the remaining 140 were listed outside Dhaka.
Since January, some 24,645 patients have been admitted to different hospitals with dengue in the country.
So far, 23,858 dengue patients have left hospitals after recovery, said DGHS.
In September, the country recorded the highest number of 7,841 dengue cases of the current year with 23 deaths.
In October, the number of dengue cases came down to 5,604 with 22 deaths recorded.
Correlation with climate change
A World Bank (WB) report released last week has found a wider link between the shifting climate conditions and the increase in dengue cases and some other diseases in Bangladesh.
It says with falling humidity levels, rising temperatures and increasing rainfall caused by climate change, the risk of dengue spread can be higher in the country, mainly in Dhaka and Chittagong cities, in the future.
Bangladesh has experienced a 0.5° Celsius increase in average temperature between 1976 and 2019 and is slowly losing the variations between seasons, the report added.
Summers are becoming hotter and longer while winters are warmer, and the monsoon seasons are being extended from February to October.
The report also predicted that average temperatures across Bangladesh will rise by 1.4° Celsius by 2050 while annual rainfall is likely to increase by 74 millimetres by 2040-2059.
