Battered by coronavirus, Bangladesh health system struggling to survive dengue fever spike

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - The Bangladesh health care system is having to deal with a sharp spike in dengue fever cases as hospitals have been stretched thin in battling the delta-driven coronavirus with limited facilities.

Dengue claimed at least 48 lives in Bangladesh in 2021. A record 330 new patients were hospitalized with 284 people in Dhaka alone on Thursday while a total of 10,981 patients were diagnosed with the fever, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

Bangladesh has been witnessing more than 200 dengue cases daily since the beginning of August.

Nazmul Haque Zenith, a service official at a government agency, was released from the hospital on Wednesday after 10 days of uninterrupted medical care.

Zenith, 32, was too weak to go to work as his body is facing a double blow of COVID-19 and dengue.

“We suspected that the dengue spread through a neighboring under-construction building in the Uttara area of the capital. Many others in our neighboring buildings got infected with dengue this year,” he told Anadolu Agency. “We passed through an untold suffering as three members of our family had to be admitted to hospitals, which caused financial burden apart from physical and mental trouble.”

Kabirul Bashar, a renowned medical entomologist and professor at Jahangirnagar University, told Anadolu Agency that “we also learned through a projection model that the dengue infection scenario would not dip or see any major changes in the next 15 days.”

“Dengue cases in the country would be at least four to five times higher than data provided by the DGHS. Many people do not visit hospitals despite being infected and DGHS does not have the number. On the other hand, the DGHS only keeps information on 41 hospitals,” he said.

- Dengue becomes deadlier

Meanwhile, the death rate is higher in 2021.

Dengue claimed at least 179 lives with 101,354 infections in 2019, the deadliest outbreak of the disease in history. But 48 people died in 2021 with 10,000 infections, said Bashar, who cited data from the DGHS.

Researchers at the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research recently discovered a new dengue variant, Dengue Virus Type 3 (DENV-3). They said it is believed to be behind the spike.

Salim Khan, the principal scientific officer with the government-run institute, confirmed that finding to Anadolu Agency.

“People are becoming increasingly infected with the new dengue variant and we found a higher death rate from dengue this year compared to the dengue epidemic in 2019 in Bangladesh. An increasing number of children have also become victims of dengue fever this year, which is worrying,” he said.

Bashar said that there are four serotypes of dengue and when a patient is infected with a type, it is usually easy to recover because it provides immunity against that particular strand.

“But subsequent infection or infection by other strands causes developing severe dengue even life risk. And, dengue cases are rising because of the ‘wave pattern,’” he said.

- Rising dengue cases among children worry experts

Children are more vulnerable to dengue because of less movement and thin skin, according to Bashar, who said the mortality rate among children is up in 2021.

The Director of Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital in Dhaka, Quazi Md Rashid Un Nabi, told Anadolu Agency that hospitals are facing a rush of dengue patients and that has created additional pressure for facilities despite taking preparation.

“On average 45 - 55 dengue patients were admitted to our hospital, a major government hospital dedicated to treating dengue patients, since the last half of August with as many as 84 on Wednesday. And, currently, 224 are undergoing dengue treatment -- 34 are children,” said Un Nabi.

The number of pediatric patients is higher and treating children who go into dengue shock are comparatively difficult because of their vulnerable immune system so the death risk is high among minors, he explained.

- Government claims situation under control

DGHS spokesman Dr. Nazmul Islam told Anadolu Agency that dengue outbreaks normally occur during the annual monsoon season in the densely populated country.

The agency, however, has already provided national guidelines on the outbreak to health care facilities.

“It’s an additional pressure and challenge for the country’s healthcare to address the dengue outbreak amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We are visually seeing a surge in dengue cases and deaths against infections, including among children. But we finally could confirm it following our experts’ analysis,” he said.

“The government is well equipped to address both COVID and dengue. Though it’s a tough time, the country’s health care is capable of managing the situation, and the overall health situation is under control,” he added.