Health authorities reported 196 new dengue cases in 24 hours till Saturday morning amid a spike in the Aedes mosquito-borne disease in the country.

The outbreak of dengue fever --100 dengue patients reported daily for more than a week—has sparked new worries as the country’s health services are already overburdened with growing Covid cases and fatalities.

Of the new dengue cases, 194 were reported in Dhaka while only two were from outside the capital, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

According to the (DGHS), 777 patients are currently receiving treatment at different hospitals across the country.

Read: Dengue vs. Severe Dengue: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, Prevention

A vast majority of the dengue patients are from Dhaka as only 30 of them were reported being treated in hospitals outside the capital.

Some 2,658 patients have been admitted to different hospitals with dengue since January and 1,877 of them have been released after they recovered.

The DGHS reported 1,193 dengue cases and three confirmed dengue-related deaths in 2020.

According to official statistics, 101,354 dengue cases and 179 deaths were recorded in Bangladesh in 2019.

Read: 143 more dengue cases reported in 24 hrs

Dengue fever was first reported in Bangladesh in 2000, claiming 93 lives that year. In the years that followed, the country learned to deal with the disease much better. 

The fatalities had almost fallen to zero at one stage, before surging again in 2018, leading to the severe outbreak the following year.