Shawdesh desk:

Health authorities said that 104 more people were hospitalised with dengue in capital Dhaka in 24 hours until Saturday morning amid a rise in the mosquito-borne disease.

Across Bangladesh, some 422 patients diagnosed with dengue are receiving treatment in different hospitals for the disease as of Saturday morning, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). The vast majority of them are in the capital.

DGHS reports 419 patients are receiving treatment at different hospitals in the capital, while just three patients were listed outside Dhaka.

Some 1,574patients have been admitted to different hospitals with dengue since January – 1,149 of them have been released after recovery.

The recent spike in dengue cases has added to the burden on healthcare providers as the country continues to grapple with the devastating second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

DGHS spokesman and line director Dr. Nazmul Islam advised testing for dengue as well as coronavirus in case of temperature.

He said medicine should be taken on the advice of a registered doctor only in case of treatment. If necessary, one may contact the hotline number of DGHS.

The DGHS reported 1,193 dengue cases and three confirmed dengue-related deaths in 2020. It marked a dramatic and largely unexplained drop from the previous year, which was the worst year on record for dengue in the country.

Official figures state 101,354 dengue cases and 179 deaths were recorded in Bangladesh in 2019.

Dengue fever was first reported in Bangladesh in 2000, claiming 93 lives that year. In the years that followed, the country learned to deal with the disease much better, but it did become endemic. Fatalities almost fell to zero at one stage, before spiking again in 2018, leading to the horrific crisis the following year.