Home ›› 30 May 2023 ›› Governance
Narrating the deteriorating dengue situation in Bangladesh, Health Minister Zahid maleque on Monday said the number of dengue patients has increased fivefold compared to the first five months of the previous year.
And the number of deaths is also more than the past year, he said.
The statement comes within 24 hours of the forecast made by The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) that dengue cases, deaths may break records this season.
During a press briefing held in the ministry’s meeting room on Monday to announce the re-launch of the Pfizer-VCV (variant-containing vaccines) Covid-19 vaccination programme, the minister discussed the current state of health services in the country.
He said the number of dengue patients in the country has risen significantly, with 1,704 patients identified so far and 13 fatalities reported.
In contrast, the DGHS reported that in the first five months of 2022, only 352 cases were identified, and no deaths were recorded during that period.
The health minister emphasised the importance of maintaining a clean and healthy lifestyle at home and in the neighbourhood to prevent the spread of mosquito-borne diseases.
He also said that government hospitals nationwide have been instructed to be prepared, ensuring dedicated wards and beds for the treatment of dengue patients.
During a recent situation monitoring meeting, DGHS informed the media about their prediction of a massive dengue outbreak this year due to heavy rainfall preceding the rainy season.
Resumption of booster Covid vaccination from this week
The health minister announced the resumption of administering third and fourth doses of Covid vaccines using the recently acquired 3 million variant-containing vaccines (VCV) through COVAX facilities.
He confirmed that the Covid-19 booster dose campaign would commence nationwide from this week.
The minister highlighted that Bangladesh alone received 11 per cent of the vaccines distributed worldwide.
Furthermore, more than 88.51 per cent of the total population has received the first dose, while 82.18 per cent have completed both doses. Additionally, 39.62 per cent of the population has received the first booster dose (3rd dose), and only 1.85 per cent got the second booster dose.
Director General of DGHS, Prof Dr ABM Khurshid Alam, Nazmul Haque Khan, additional secretary (Hospital Wing), and additional duties additional secretary (PH Wing) were among the officials present at the programme.