According to a report by The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), almost 35 percent of the people who died from dengue are aged between 21 and 40 years, and it reveals so much more.
It was stated eight deaths from the mosquito-borne disease and 2,168 hospital admissions in the 24 hours preceding 8:00 am yesterday.
The outbreak this year has caused 493 deaths,the DGHS data shows.
The 21-40 age group constitutes around 46 percent of the total cases this year so far.
According to reports, HM Nazmul Ahsan, associate professor of medicine at the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital, said, “It is difficult to say why this age group has the highest number of deaths. But delayed visits to the hospital could be one of the reasons. People of this age group are relatively fit and tend to delay the first visit to the hospital.”
He said that early consultation with a doctor and proper medication is essential if someone has dengue, adding that patients should drink coconut water, saline, and homemade fruit juice to stay hydrated. He also advised vitamins and minerals to speed up recovery.
Meanwhile, as per reports, Entomologist Prof Kabirul Bashar of Jahangirnagar University, said as people of the 21-40 age group go outdoors a lot, they are at risk of getting infected.
The data, done by DGHS, also shows that 62.4 percent of males and 37.6% of females have been affected by dengue so far.
In the case of monthly dengue cases and deaths so far, it shows, 566 cases and 6 deaths were seen in January, 166 cases and 3 deaths in February, 111 cases and no deaths in March, 143 cases and 2 deaths in April, 1036 cases and 2 deaths in May, 5956 cases and 34 deaths in June, and skyrocketing in July, which gained 43854 cases and 204 deaths. And this August month saw 52527 cases and 242, which is comparably more than all of the previous months.
2023 saw the most cases when compared to the last 5 years with 104,359. Only 2019 almost overthrew 2023 with 101,354 cases, but 2023 gained 3,005 more cases than 2019.
After looking at this data, we can only say that it is going only up to the high. As we have seen in our history, any ‘pandemic’ starts at a specific time, and ends at a specific destination. However, it is not immediately clear where dengue will stop in Bangladesh.
Among other steps, the most we can do now is to spread awareness. We have to be extremely careful as dengue is perhaps, already in its pandemic stage. We can do things like, preventing mosquito habitats, keeping our doors and windows closed as much as possible, avoiding visiting areas prone to mosquitoes, wearing protective clothing, sleeping under mosquito-net, keeping our house airy and well-lit, timing our outings, and many more things.