Dengue deaths rising due to late hospitalisation, comorbidity
A total of 118 people have died of dengue so far this year, which is higher than deaths occurring in the last two years combined
Deaths from viral dengue infection are occurring almost every day in the country, not to mention the increasing number of new cases.
A total of 118 people have died of dengue so far this year, which is higher than the deaths that have occurred in the last two years combined.
Physicians and health experts have cited comorbidity [suffering from multiple diseases] and late hospitalisation of dengue patients as the main reasons behind the rising death toll.
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As many as 750 more dengue patients were hospitalised in the 24 hours till Tuesday morning, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
This year, the health directorate has recorded 32,716 dengue cases and 29,466 recoveries so far.
Currently, 3,416 dengue patients remain admitted to various govt-listed hospitals. However, dengue patients who are treated at unlisted hospitals and at home remain unaccounted for.
Officially, 11 people are said to have died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), but hospital authorities have confirmed the death of 18 people due to dengue.
Brig Gen Md Nazmul Haque, director of DMCH, told The Business Standard (TBS), "The most critical patients are referred here from hospitals in and outside Dhaka. As they arrive at the last moment, we get almost no time to cure them. One such dengue patient with terminal cancer died after being admitted to the hospital recently."
"We have reviewed that out of 18 patients, who have died in this hospital so far, 17 arrived late or had other physical complications or terminal illnesses. A patient undergoing kidney dialysis also came here with dengue infection," he added.
Brig Gen Kazi Rashid-un-Nabi, director of Sir Salimullah Medical College [Mitford Hospital], told TBS, "Eleven people have died of dengue in our hospital this year. Most of them arrived late and the rest had various complex diseases involving the liver and kidneys. Dengue just made the patients' conditions more severe."
He advised dengue patients to come to the hospital immediately in case of repeated vomiting or blood clots in the eyes.
Dr ABM Abdullah, emeritus professor and personal physician of the prime minister, told TBS, "Those suffering from various types of comorbidities, including kidney and heart disease, should go to the hospital if they are dengue positive. Their risk is high because many heart patients take blood thinners and aspirin. They are at risk of bleeding if they have dengue."
Ten child dengue patients have died at the Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute.
Professor Dr Jahangir Alam, director of the Bangladesh Institute of Child Health and Shishu Hospital, said, "Bleeding is a major cause of death among dengue patients. Many of the patients who died in this hospital had haemorrhages in their lungs. A few others had abdominal bleeding. Many dengue patients had sudden heart blockages. These 10 children developed such complications after contracting dengue."
According to the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), the DEN 1, 3 and 4 serotypes of dengue are affecting patients this year. The severity of dengue is high due to multiple serotypes.
Health experts suggest immediate hospitalisation after taking a dengue test if fever and other dangerous symptoms appear.
When asked about the sudden spike in dengue cases, Professor Dr Nazmul Islam, director of the Communicable Disease Control unit of DGHS, said, "We have formed a committee headed by the director of IEDRC to investigate the cause of the death of patients affected by dengue fever. It has not reported back yet."
"However, in the information provided by various hospitals, we have come to know that the death rate is higher among patients who arrive late," he added. ***
