At least five people died of dengue and 668 others were hospitalised across the country in the 24 hours till 8:00am Wednesday, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.
The fresh fatalities pushed the official death toll this year to 187, while the number of hospital admissions reached 43,841.
Of the latest deaths, two occurred at Mugda Medical College and Hospital, while Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Kurmitola General Hospital, and Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute each reported one fatality.
Of the five deaths three were females and the rest two males, while three of them were 12, 50, 55 years old each and two were 60 years old.
DGHS data marks September as the deadliest month so far this year with 65 deaths and 12,365 hospitalisations recorded in the first 24 days alone.
Monthly data show 1,161 admissions in January, 374 in February, 336 in March, 701 in April, 1,773 in May, 5,951 in June, 10,684 in July, and 10,496 in August.
Deaths during the same period were 10 in January, three in February, seven in April, three in May, 19 in June, 41 in July, and 39 in August.
No death was recorded in March.
Dengue has become a major public health concern in Bangladesh since the first official outbreak in 2000, when 93 people died and 5,551 others were hospitalised.
According to DGHS statistics, dengue claimed 1,705 lives and hospitalised 3,21,179 people in 2023 alone鈥攎ore deaths than the combined toll of 853 reported between 2000 and 2022.
In 2024, the country again witnessed a severe outbreak that left 575 people dead along with 1,01,214 hospitalisations among whom 1,00,040 recovered.
