Desk Report,
Dengue outbreak in Barisal division: Infections out of control in Barguna for three months
Dengue infection is not being controlled in Barisal division. The health department is concerned about the situation, especially in Barguna, which has seen a high infection rate for the past three months. It is feared that the infection may take a more serious form after continuous rains in July.
Dengue outbreak in Barisal division: Infections out of control in Barguna for three months
Sources from the divisional health department say that the number of dengue patients in the division this year is approaching 8,000. As of Tuesday, 7,904 dengue patients have been admitted to government hospitals in the division. Out of these, 4,663 are from Barguna. According to the official figures, 17 people have died. Of these, six are residents of Barguna district. In addition, there is information that six more people in the district died on their way home or to another hospital from the hospital, which is not in the official records. The latest is that a patient named Selim Mia (70) died while undergoing treatment at Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital on Sunday night. He is a resident of Barguna Sadar Upazila. He came to the hospital two days ago after contracting dengue. Earlier, one patient died on the night of July 15 and two patients died on July 7.
The Health Department says that dengue has been spreading rapidly in Barguna since the beginning of May. There is still a high rate of dengue infection in the district. The situation is not coming under control at all. So far, about 59 percent of the official dengue patients have been identified in the district, which is still continuing.
Barguna has never seen such a continuous and high rate of dengue infection. The government’s Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) conducted a survey of Aedes mosquito larvae in Barguna in mid-June. The IEDCR released the results of the survey at a press conference on June 26.
According to the survey data, Aedes larvae, the carrier of dengue disease, were found in 31 percent of the houses in Barguna municipality and 76 percent of the houses in rural areas. The survey team collected data from 184 houses in Barguna. Of these, 138 were in Barguna municipality and the remaining 46 were in different villages of Gaurichanna Union of Sadar Upazila. Of these, Aedes larvae were found in 43 houses in the municipal area and 35 houses in the village.
The accepted method of measuring the density of Aedes mosquito larvae is the ‘Bruto Index (BI).’ If the BI is 20 or more, it is considered that there is a high presence of Aedes larvae there. Out of the 9 wards in Barguna Municipality, the BI in wards 7 and 9 is 153 and 133 respectively. And in rural areas, the BI is 163. The survey was conducted under the leadership of Ratna Das, Chief Scientific Officer of the Medical Social Science Department of IEDCR.
According to the information of the Department of Health, 101 people were admitted to various government hospitals due to dengue in the department from 8 am yesterday, Monday to 8 am today, Tuesday. Of these, 56 are undergoing treatment at the 250-bed General Hospital in Barguna. Apart from this, 9 patients have been admitted to Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital in Barisal, 6 to other hospitals in Barisal, 23 to Patuakhali, 4 to Pirojpur, and 3 to Bhola. However, no patient has been identified in Jhalokati. Currently, 316 dengue patients are admitted to government hospitals in the division. Of these, 147 are under treatment at the 250-bed General Hospital in Barguna.
Shyamal Krishna Mandal, Barisal Divisional Director of the Department of Health, told Prothom Alo that while the situation is normal in other districts of the division, dengue infection has been in a terrible state in Barguna for almost three months. The situation is not coming under control in any way. In addition, there is a risk that it will rain more in July. This may make the situation even more delicate. They are trying to make all necessary arrangements for the treatment of patients. But with the way dengue-carrying mosquitoes are spreading, there is no alternative to personal initiative and awareness to bring it under control.
