October emerged as the deadliest month for dengue this year, with at least 80 deaths and 22,520 hospitalisations, while experts opined that the surge in dengue cases might continue in November as well.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services, dengue casualties and cases surpassed September鈥檚 toll of 76 deaths and 15,866 admissions, making October the worst month of the year in terms of fatalities and infections.
The latest DGHS data released on Saturday show that the number of dengue deaths this year has increased to 278, while the number of hospitalisation due to the viral fever has risen to 70,513.
According to DGHS data, at least 10 people died of dengue in January, 3 in February, 7 in April, 3 in May, 19 in June, 41 in July and 76 in September. No death was reported in March.
Besides, the country recorded hospitalisation of 1,161 dengue patients in January, 374 in February, 336 in March, 701 in April, 1,773 in May, 5,951 in June, 10,684 in July, 10,496 in August and 15,866 others in September.
Health officials warned that the persistent spread of Aedes mosquitoes, the carrier of the virus, indicated that dengue had now become a year-round public health concern in Bangladesh.
Of the deaths this year, 134 were recorded in the Dhaka South City Corporation area, 41 in the Dhaka North City Corporation area, 40 in Barishal, 25 in Chattogram, 12 in Mymensingh, eight in Khulna, three in greater Dhaka (outside city areas), and the remaining one was recorded in Sylhet.
Barishal continues to report the highest number of dengue cases, with 17,224 infections, followed by Dhaka division with 11,548, Chattogram division with 10,092, Dhaka South City with 10,192, Dhaka North City with 9,112, and Khulna with 3,543.
Public health experts said that inadequate vector control, poor waste management, and uncoordinated anti-mosquito drives have made dengue endemic in urban and semi-urban areas.
National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine鈥檚 entomology department head professor Md Golam Sharower said that the November rain planted a huge potential for aedes breeding.
Epidemiologist and former director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research AM Zakir Hussain said that the condition would depend completely on temperature and humidity.
鈥業f this is the last rain before the winter, aedes will spread for two more weeks,鈥� he said.
The entomologists said that the present temperature and humidity are favorable for aedes mosquito breeding.
Ades is the carrier of the dengue virus.
Without a national-level integrated mosquito management system, it will be difficult to reverse this trend, said a senior entomologist.
Data from DGHS show that Bangladesh recorded 134 deaths and 30,879 cases in October 2024, followed by 173 deaths and 29,652 cases in November 2024.
Bangladesh has faced recurring dengue outbreaks since the country began to keep official records in 2000, when 93 people died and 5,551 were hospitalised.
The situation has worsened in recent years. Dengue claimed 1,705 lives and led to 321,179 hospitalisations in 2023 alone, compared with 853 deaths and 244,246 hospitalisations in the entire period between 2000 and 2022.
Last year, the country suffered another severe wave, with 575 deaths and 101,214 reported cases.