2023 dengue outbreak in Bangladesh

2023 dengue outbreak in Bangladesh
Dengue hospitalizations by district and Dhaka metropolis, as of 17 September 2023
DiseaseDengue fever
Date2023
(Outbreak season: April 2023–ongoing)
Active cases725 [a]
Suspected cases‡~750,000
Hospitalized cases321,179
Recovered318,749[b]
Deaths
1,705
Fatality rate0.53%
Government website
DGHS dengue status reports
‡Suspected cases have not been confirmed by laboratory tests as being due to this strain, although some other strains may have been ruled out.

In Bangladesh's ongoing 2023 dengue epidemic season, the country has been witnessing the deadliest outbreak of dengue fever ever since the first outbreak in Bangladesh in 2000.[1][2][3] As of 31 December 2023, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has reported 321,179 hospitalizations and 1,705 deaths due to the Aedes mosquito-borne tropical disease in the 2023 outbreak year.[4] Like previous years, the outbreak started in Summer (April–May), spread and surged nationwide in the monsoons (July–August).[5] On 3 August, the number of deaths surpassed previous years; and on 21 August, the tally of hospitalization surpassed the previous highest record of the 2019 outbreak.[6] Dhaka is the worst-hit area and the epicentre of the outbreak, with more than half of the cases being reported in the megacity.[7][5] On 25 July, hospitalizations were reported in all districts; and the tally of hospitalizations outside Dhaka city surpassed the figure of the capital on 14 August.

In June 2023, the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) reported that people are getting affected with the DENV-2 and DENV-3 variants this season, the two with the highest rates of infections and death.[8] In 2022 and 2021, DENV-4 and DENV-3 were found for the first time, respectively.[9][10] Although a patient does develop immunity to a certain variant after being infected with it, cross-infection with different variants raises the chance of complications and mortality. Secondary infections show changed symptoms, thus delayed hospitalizations are causing more deaths. It's notable that the death rate has more or less increased in Bangladesh in past years.[11] With more severe cases being referred to the capital, Dhaka's hospitals struggle to control the situation.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Paul, Ruma (5 August 2023). "Bangladesh grapples with record deadly outbreak of dengue fever". Reuters. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  2. ^ Burki, Talha (5 August 2023). "Bangladesh faces record dengue outbreak". The Lancet. 402 (10400): 439. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01610-0. PMID 37544320. S2CID 260460326.
  3. ^ Paul, Ruma (2023-10-02). "Bangladesh dengue deaths top 1,000 in worst outbreak". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  4. ^ Dengue Press Release – 11/10/2023, Health Emergency Operation Centre and Control Room, MIS, Directorate General of Health Services, Mohakhali (Dhaka), 11 October 2023
  5. ^ a b "Dengue - Bangladesh". World Health Organization. 11 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  6. ^ "ডেঙ্গুতে এবছর মৃত্যু আগের সব হিসাব ছাড়াল" [Deaths for dengue this year crosses all past records]. Bdnews24.com (in Bengali). 3 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  7. ^ Bhowmik, Khokon Kanti; Ferdous, Jannatul; Baral, Prodip Kumar; Islam, Mohammad Safiqul (11 April 2023). "Recent outbreak of dengue in Bangladesh: A threat to public health". National Center for Biotechnology Information. 6 (4): e1210. doi:10.1002/hsr2.1210. PMC 10090488. PMID 37064322.
  8. ^ Alam, Helemul (19 June 2023). "Dengue 'Den-2' variant more prominent now". The Daily Star. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  9. ^ Alam, Helemul (23 July 2023). "New dengue variant found". The Daily Star. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  10. ^ Sakib, SM Najmus (30 August 2021). "Study finds new dengue variant dominant in Bangladesh". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  11. ^ Rahman, Kazi Nafia (19 July 2023). "Why is the dengue death rate worse this year?". Bdnews24.com. Retrieved 13 August 2023.