Bangladesh sees record death toll from dengue outbreak

DHAKA, (Reuters): Hospitals in Dhaka struggled to make space for the high number of Dengue patients on Friday (August 4) as Bangladesh saw a record number of deaths and infections for the second consecutive year.

The mosquito-borne disease is spreading rapidly through densely populated Bangladesh this rainy season. At least 283 affected people have died, more than half of them in the capital Dhaka. More than 37,000 have become infected with the virus so far this year, according to official figures on Thursday (August 3).

In 2022, the virus claimed 281 lives, a record high since the authorities started keeping a tally in 2000, and 62,423 people were infected, the figures showed.

There is no vaccine or drug that specifically treats dengue, which is common in South Asia during the June-to-September monsoon season as the Aedes aegypti mosquito which spreads the disease thrives in stagnant water.

Experts said that they expect to get more cases towards the end of the June-to-September monsoon season.