Dhaka: Nearly 1,000 people have died of dengue in Bangladesh this year, in what authorities say is the country's most severe outbreak of the disease yet. Extraordinarily wet monsoons have made it easier for mosquitoes that carry the dengue virus to breed in dirty and stagnant water.
Officials have struggled to contain the spread of the disease and hospitals have been critically overwhelmed. In severe cases, dengue causes internal bleeding which can lead to death.
Dengue is endemic in tropical countries and outbreaks often occur in urban areas with poor sanitation that allow virus-carrying mosquitoes to multiply. It used to be a seasonal disease in Bangladesh, but due to hotter and wetter monsoons brought about by climate change, it has been occurring more frequently since the first recorded outbreak in 2000.
Public health officials say the current wave of infections caught the country off guard, as it is caused by a stronger strain of the virus. Doctors have noted that the condition of current dengue patients deteriorates much faster compared to the last few years.
Up to 20 people have died of dengue every day over the past two months and the death toll this year has exceeded the total in the last 22 years, officials say. Bangladesh has launched public awareness campaigns to prevent mosquito breeding grounds from forming. But more needs to be done, according to Dr Mushtaq Hussain, a public health expert.