The Directorate General of Health Services on Tuesday issued a 12-point directive asking hospitals to prioritise dengue treatment as hospitalisations and deaths from the infection were rising across the country.
According to the DGHS daily update, a 13-year-old boy died of the disease and 665 others were hospitalised in the past 24 hours till 8:00am Tuesday.
With the latest figures, at least 156 people have died and 39,192 others have been admitted with the mosquito-borne viral disease this year since January.
The directive, signed by DGHS hospital wing director Abu Hussain Md Moinul Ahsan, asked hospitals to form dedicated medical boards for dengue treatment headed by specialists.
Hospitals have been asked in the directive to ensure urgent NS1 tests for suspected patients, maintain round-the-clock diagnostic and treatment facilities, and coordinate with the Central Medical Stores Depot and Communicable Disease Control for supplies.
ICU support must be provided to patients on a priority basis where needed, according to the directive.
All admitted dengue patients must be kept in designated wards or areas, the directive said.
The guideline further directs that a medical board, including medicine specialists, paediatricians and relevant experts, should supervise dengue and chikungunya care.
Under the board, a dedicated team of doctors and resident physicians will provide exclusive treatment, according to the directive.
Outpatient dengue and chikungunya patients must be treated in designated rooms by the assigned doctors, the directive further says.
Each hospital must also designate a nurse to maintain and transmit all patient information.
In the case of a patient鈥檚 death, hospital directors or superintendents must notify the DGHS within six hours and submit detailed reports within 24 hours.
Hospital authorities have also been asked to inform city corporations or municipal authorities to carry out mosquito-control and cleanliness drives around their premises.
Every Saturday, dengue coordination meetings must be held under the supervision of hospital directors, superintendents or civil surgeons.
The 12-point directive came as hospitals struggle to manage the surge in patients.
DGHS data shows that at least 7,716 people were admitted with dengue in the first 16 days of September, while 34 of them died.
Monthly data shows 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.
During the same period 10 people died in January, three in February, seven in April, three in May, 19 in June, 41 in July, and 39 in August.
Dengue has become a major public health concern in the country since the first official outbreak in 2000, when 93 people died and 5,551 others were hospitalised.
According to DGHS statistics, the disease 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 and 1,01,214 admitted, of whom 1,00,040 recovered.