new dengue patients: Deaths this year remain at 98
Fifty-three new dengue patients have been hospitalized in 24 hours until Saturday morning, health authorities said.
The number of fatalities from the mosquito-borne disease remained unchanged at 98 in the current year as no fresh death was reported during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Ninety people died in the Dhaka division alone, two each in Chittagong, Mymensingh, and Khulna divisions and one each in Rajshahi and Barisal divisions.
Twenty-four new patients are undergoing treatment in hospitals in Dhaka while the remaining 29 cases have been reported from outside the division.
Some 293 patients diagnosed with dengue are receiving treatment in the country as of Friday.
Of them, 213 patients are receiving treatment at different hospitals in the capital while the remaining 80 were listed outside Dhaka.
Since January, some 27,536 patients have been admitted to different hospitals with dengue in the country. So far, 27,145 dengue patients have left hospitals after recovery, said DGHS.
Experts attribute the unusually high dengue cases during the dry season, mainly in Dhaka, to the prolonged rainy season, sporadic rainfall.
They also said the climate conditions of Bangladesh are becoming more favorable for the Aedes mosquitos to prevail in all seasons with high or low intensity, mainly for the increase in temperature and breeding sources.