Bangladesh: Unbridled rise in dengue infections in July

NewsDesk @bactiman63

The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) in Bangladesh has reported 34,724 dengue cases so far in July with the total cases since the beginning of the year rising to 42,702–24,798 cases in Dhaka and 17,904 from outside Dhaka.

Some 20,000 cases have been reported in the past 10 days in Bangladesh. Hospitals, especially in Dhaka, are struggling to find space for the high caseload of patients suffering high fever, joint pain and vomiting, health officials said.

An additional 10 fatalities today has brought the total death tally to 225 (178 in July alone). 177 deaths were reported from Dhaka.

281 dengue deaths were reported in 2022 – the highest on record in the country.

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Dengue is a viral infection transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito. There are four closely related but antigenically different serotypes of the virus that can cause dengue (DEN1, DEN 2, DEN 3, DEN 4).

Dengue Fever (DF) – marked by an onset of sudden high fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, and pain in muscles and joints. Some may also have a rash and varying degree of bleeding from various parts of the body (including nose, mouth and gums or skin bruising).Dengue has a wide spectrum of infection outcome (asymptomatic to symptomatic). Symptomatic illness can vary from dengue fever (DF) to the more serious dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF).

Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) – is a more severe form, seen only in a small proportion of those infected. DHF is a stereotypic illness characterized by 3 phases; febrile phase with high continuous fever usually lasting for less than 7 days; critical phase (plasma leaking) lasting 1-2 days usually apparent when fever comes down, leading to shock if not detected and treated early; convalescence phase lasting 2-5 days with improvement of appetite, bradycardia (slow heart rate), convalescent rash (white patches in red background), often accompanied by generalized itching (more intense in palms and soles), and diuresis (increase urine output).

Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS) — Shock syndrome is a dangerous complication of dengue infection and is associated with high mortality. Severe dengue occurs as a result of secondary infection with a different virus serotype. Increased vascular permeability, together with myocardial dysfunction and dehydration, contribute to the development of shock, with resultant multiorgan failure.