Source: New Age

79pc deaths in three days of hospitalisationSeventy-nine per cent of dengue deaths recorded in the past week died within three days of their hospitalisation, the Directorate General of Health Services said on Sunday.A total of 71 people, including 11 in the past 24 hours, died while 14,324 patients were hospitalised across the country this week.Among those who died this week, only 18 per cent survived 10 days in the hospital, and 3 per cent more than 10 days.Among other deaths, 14 per cent of patients died with expanded dengue syndrome, four per cent of deceased victims had co-morbidity, and per cent were dengue hemorrhagic, according to the weekly DGHS data.A total of 548 people  died of dengue and 114,511 were hospitalised, including 2,327 in the 24 hours ending 8:00am on Sunday, since January, according to DGHS data.Among those infected, 21,000 are children under the age of 15, UNICEF said on Sunday.UNICEF, in a statement, said it had intensified its support for the efforts of the Bangladesh government to contain the dengue outbreak in the country.DGHS said eight of the 11 deaths reported on Sunday were from Dhaka and three from other districts.With this, at least 297 people died of dengue alone in August while 62,679 were hospitalised, making it the worst month in Bangladesh’s dengue history.Bangladesh earlier recorded 52,636 dengue hospitalisations in August 2019, the previous highest single-month hospitalisations.At least 281 people died of dengue in 2022, which was the worst-ever outbreak in terms of deaths since the official counting began in 2000.Health minister Zahid Maleque said on Sunday that the government had spent an average of Tk 50,000 on every single dengue patient’s treatment, costing the state around Tk 400 crore this year so far.At a view exchange meeting with reporters in a city hotel, he also said that dengue treatment was being provided free of charge, like Covid-19 at public hospitals where 70 per cent of patients received treatment.He explained that two types of dengue patients were being treated at public hospitals, with many requiring platelets and ICU support.He said that the health department of the government was doing its best for dengue treatment, adding that the government ensured saline supplies for dengue patients in hospitals.