Around 1,000 people have died of dengue fever in Bangladesh since the beginning of the year – more than in the previous 22 years combined. Apparently this is due to particularly good breeding conditions for mosquitoes.
Bangladesh has reported the worst dengue outbreak the country has ever seen. Since the beginning of the year, more than 1,000 people have died of the disease in the South Asian country. This is evident from figures from the state health authorities, reported by the AFP news agency and DhakaTribune to report.
The previous high of 281 deaths last year has now been exceeded many times over. In total, the authority has recorded 200,000 cases of dengue fever nationwide since January. According to official figures, the dead included 112 children aged 15 and younger. The number of deaths is higher than in all years combined since the first major outbreak in Bangladesh in 2000, the former head of the health authority, Be-Nazir Ahmed, told the AFP news agency.
What is dengue fever?
Dengue fever is a disease common in tropical areas that causes high fever, headaches, nausea, vomiting, muscle pain and, in the worst cases, bleeding that can lead to death. Typically, most cases in Bangladesh are reported during the rainy season between July and September. This year, hospitals admitted their first patients in the winter months.
Scientists have attributed this year’s severe outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease to erratic rains and high temperatures during Bangladesh’s annual monsoon season. They would have created ideal breeding conditions for mosquitoes.
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said in September that the outbreak was putting the health system in Bangladesh under enormous pressure. According to the WHO, mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever, but also yellow fever and the Zika virus, are spreading faster and further because of climate change. The likelihood of dengue virus infections is also likely to increase in Germany.