Bangladesh battles rising tide of dengue and chikungunya

DHAKA (Reuters) -Bangladesh faces a fast-worsening public health crisis as the mosquito-borne diseases dengue and chikungunya spread side by side, overwhelming hospitals and heightening fears of an even bigger outbreak in the weeks ahead.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services, the South Asian country has recorded over 33,800 dengue cases and 132 deaths this year. In the first week of September alone, at least 10 people died and more than 1,500 were admitted to hospitals with fever.

Chikungunya, absent for years, is making a forceful return. Between January and July, four Dhaka-based labs confirmed 785 cases of the virus, with detection rates topping 30% in some facilities. In the port city of Chittagong, officials reported 30 cases in just 24 hours, pushing the city’s tally to nearly 3,000 this year.

Hospitals are struggling to cope. At Dhaka Medical College Hospital, the country’s largest public hospital, wards are overflowing, with more than three times the number of patients they were designed to hold.

Experts warn that the crisis could deepen unless mosquito control campaigns are intensified.

"The Aedes mosquito is adapting fast to our cities, said Kabirul Bashar, a medical entomologist at Jahangirnagar University. "Stagnant water in construction sites, rooftops, and even flower pots are turning into breeding grounds. Unless we destroy these habitats systematically, outbreaks like dengue and chikungunya will only grow larger every year."

The deadliest year on record was 2023, with 1,705 deaths from dengue and more than 321,000 infections reported.

The World Health Organization has flagged dengue as one of the fastest-growing global threats, worsened by climate change and urban crowding. WHO advises early recognition of warning signs - abdominal pain, vomiting, bleeding, or reduced urination - and cautions against misuse of NSAIDs or steroids in viral fevers.

Patients said the experience is unlike previous fever seasons.

"My dengue test was negative, but the pain stayed," Sultana Parveen, 48, bedridden for more than two weeks, she said while sitting in a hospital in Dhaka for further tests. "I cannot walk properly because my ankles hurt so much."

With multiple fevers circulating at once, health experts say Bangladesh urgently needs reinforced hospitals, expanded testing and year-round mosquito control drives to prevent the situation from spiralling further.

(Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by William Mallard)