DHAKA, Aug 10, 2023 (BSS) - Health experts at a seminar today laid emphasis on launching massive campaign to eliminate dengue disease as the mosquito-borne disease has taken an alarming turn in the country.

Like other successful campaign to fight against the deadly disease, now time has come to set a target to eradicate dengue disease within next five to 10 years, they told the seminar in the NIPSOM auditorium at Mohakhali in the city.

Public Health Association of Bangladesh organized the seminar on "Challenges to prevention and control of dengue in Bangladesh: the way forward".

Former Additional Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Prof Dr Sanya Tahmina and Professor and Head of Department of Entomology of National Institute of Prevalence and Social Medicine (NIPSOM) Professor Dr Md Golam Sharower presented the keynote papers at the seminar while former DGHS Director General Prof Dr Shah Monir Hossain presided over it.

Public Health Expert and Advisor of IEDCR Dr Mohammad Mushtuq Husain, Line Director of Communicable Disease Control of DGHS Prof Dr Md Nazmul Islam, former chief health officer of Dhaka North City Corporation Brigadier General Zobaidur Rahman and Senior Journalist Shishir Moral joined the panel discussion at the seminar.

Tahmina said, "Dengue infection rate is very high in tropical countries including Bangladesh ... dengue disease has emerged as global health burden as dengue positive cases are increasing alarmingly across the world."

She attributed the dengue outbreak to extreme weather events caused by adverse impact of global warming, saying the whole world is struggling with dengue disease.

Although dengue cases were detected for the first time in 2000, but it has emerged a public health problem since 2016 as a significant number of dengue positive cases were detected in Bangladesh, Tahmina said.

"The year 2019 was more severe in terms of dengue positive cases and 281 dengue related deaths were logged in 2022," she said, adding 16,253 dengue positive cases were detected in July, 2023 and 51,736 cases in August same year.

In contrast, July alone recorded 43,854 dengue positive cases this year.

 This year Bangladesh has so far recorded 78,028 cases, Tahmina mentioned.
 
 Mushtuq Husain said it is urgent to get admission of all dengue patients as dengue diseases have spread across the country.

"All types of dengue positive cases need immediate hospitalization to reduce dengue-related deaths," he added.

Dengue positive patients have been divided into three categories -- A, B, C - on the basis of severity of the disease, he said, adding dengue positive patients with stable condition are under A category while moderate severe and critical patients are under category B and C.
 
"In order to ensure hospitalization of all infected people, the authorities should take immediate steps to set up primary and secondary hospitals in Dhaka city," Mushtaq added.

Others health experts have described community mobilization as the most effective initiative to control dengue outbreak as the country is in the grip of the mosquito-borne disease.

Community engagement is very crucial to prevent dengue disease, they said adding all relevant organizations should work in a coordinated manner to rein in dengue outbreak.

They laid emphasis on taking integrated efforts to tackle dengue disease and said that it is impossible for a single institution to handle the menace.