Eleven more deaths were reported from dengue by the Directorate General of Health Services on Saturday, raising the fatalities from the mosquito-borne disease in Bangladesh to 167 this year. The July death toll alone rose to 120, smashing the previous highest for deaths from dengue in a single month.
Previously, the deadliest month had been November 2022, when 113 people died from the disease, according to DGHS records in the public domain.
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Also on Saturday, DGHS reported 2,242 hospitalisations - easily the highest this year in a single day.
Of the new patients, 1,239 were admitted to hospitals in Dhaka and the rest outside it.
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A total of 6,656 dengue patients, including 3,839 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.
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So far, the DGHS has recorded 30,685 dengue cases and 23,862 recoveries this year.
The country logged 281 dengue deaths in 2022 – the highest on record after 179 deaths recorded in 2019. Also, it recorded 62,423 dengue cases and 61,971 recoveries last year.