Bangladesh is seeing a steady rise in dengue cases and the number of patients hospitlised with the mosquito-borne disease reached 100 on Tuesday. Thirty-one more people were hospitalised with dengue in 24 hours till Tuesday morning. Of the new patients, twenty-six were admitted to hospitals in Dhaka and the rest outside it, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Hundred dengue patients, including 75 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country. Also Read: 18 more dengue patients hospitalised in 24 hrs So far, the DGHS has recorded 1,292 dengue cases, 1,180 recoveries, and twelve deaths 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. Experts said dengue  is gradually becoming an annual affair in Bangladesh as an endemic due to the adverse impacts of climate change. Also Read: BNCC, scouts to join DNCC mosquito eradication drive They also said Bangladesh’s climate conditions are becoming more suitable for dengue and other vector-borne diseases like malaria and chikungunya due to excessive and erratic rainfall, waterlogging, flooding, and rise in temperature and abnormal shifts in the country’s traditional seasons. A World Bank (WB) study report released in 2021 finds a wider link between the shifting climatic conditions and the increase in dengue and some other diseases in Bangladesh. It says with falling humidity levels, rising temperatures, and increasing rainfall caused by climate change, the risk of dengue spread can be higher in the country, mainly in Dhaka and Chattogram cities, in the future. It also said summers are becoming hotter and longer while winters are warmer, and the monsoon seasons are being extended from February to October.        

The government on Wednesday raised the prices of diesel and kerosine at the retail level. As per the new price, the diesel and kerosene will be selling at Tk 80 per litre instead of Tk 65 with effect from zero hour on Thursday, said a press release of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources.  It said the prices of other petroleum products will remain unchanged.  It clarified that the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has been incurring a loss of Tk 20 crore per day as it is selling diesel at Tk 13.01 lower per litre and furnace oil at Tk 6.21 per litre, lower than their imported prices.   It said the petroleum prices have been readjusted against the backdrop of price hike of petroleum on the international market.