Number of dengue patients falling

The number of dengue patients has started decreasing in the country. 

The average number of patients admitted to hospitals per day exceeded 1,500 in the last week, but there has been a slight drop in the figure this week.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), in the 24 hours ending 8:00 am on Saturday a total of 1,179 new patients were admitted to hospitals across the country, dropping from 1,446 in the previous 24 hours.

The DGHS says that altogether 6,269 dengue patients are being treated across the country at present.

However, the fall in number of dengue infections in the last few days does not necessarily mean a decrease in the dengue outbreak. 

Usually, dengue outbreak starts in June, intensifies in September and then decrease in October. So, the peak time of dengue is yet to start, experts observed. 

This year, the dengue outbreak occurred in the capital from the very onset of the rainy season, and the number of dengue patients infected in the first few days of August was higher than the number of total patients last year.

The DGHS says 62,217 patients were admitted to hospital so far this year. Of them, 43,756 were admitted in the first 24 days of August. 

The DGHS has so far confirmed 47 deaths after analysing 80 ‘death reviews’. However, private sources say the number has exceeded 140.

Earlier, the highest death toll was 93 in 2000.