Dengue takes 10 lives, highest single-day death this year

Ten more deaths were reported from dengue in the last 24 hours till Saturday morning, marking the highest single-day death toll this year.

Meanwhile, a total of 966 people were admitted to hospitals with the mosquito-borne disease during the same period, said a handout of the Directorate General of the Health Services (DGHS), this evening.

With the latest casualties, this year’s death toll from the dengue related cases rose to 310 as of today, according to the DGHS statement.

Besides, some 63,165 people were admitted to hospitals and of them, 58,729 were released after their complete recovery across the country in the current year.  

During the last 24 hours, some 452 people were admitted at different hospitals under Dhaka north and south city corporation.

In 2023, a total of 321,179 people were affected by dengue in the country, and 1,705 lost their lives.

In October, the UN health agency said the number of reported dengue cases worldwide has approximately doubled each year since 2021, with over 12.3 million cases, including more than 7,900 deaths, reported in just the first eight months of 2024.

WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called the global spread an “alarming trend”.

Experts say changes in temperature and rainfall patterns driven by climate change and urbanisation are creating favourable conditions for Aedes aegypti, the mosquito responsible for transmitting dengue.

That means it can survive and breed at higher elevations.

Narayan Gyawali, a virologist who specialises in zoonotic diseases, said that urbanisation and increased mobility of people were also driving the dengue surge.

“When microclimates are established with urbanisation in new areas, internal temperatures become warm and there is humidity,” Gyawali said.

“A favourable environment is created for breeding and survival.”