Bangladesh hit by worst dengue outbreak on record

The mosquito-borne viral infection has spread across the country with 61 out of 64 districts reporting dengue cases by late Tuesday.

The government has confirmed 15,369 dengue cases since January. Of those, 9,683 patients were diagnosed between July 1 and July 30.

About 4,400 patients, including many children, were undergoing hospital treatment. There have been 14 deaths.

More than 50 districts across the country have been affected, but the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka — home to more than 2o million people — is the worst-hit city in the country, said Akhter, with some hospitals struggling to find space for patients.

Additionally, the health ministry says it has developed national treatment guidelines and is aiming to raise awareness of the disease through daily advertisement in newspapers, alongside other measures to tackle the spread of the illness.

The country’s opposition parties and urban planning experts blamed the central and local government’s lack of preparedness for the rise in dengue cases.