DHAKA, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh recorded 2,361 new cases of dengue fever and 10 new deaths on Thursday, bringing its total tally to 42,702 with 225 deaths, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said.
According to the figure reported by the DGHS under the Ministry of Health, 34,724 more dengue cases were recorded during the first 27 days in July after 5,956 people were infected with the mosquito-borne disease last month.
The deaths this year include 178 in July and 34 in June.
The total number of recovered patients in Bangladesh, however, rose to 34,010, including 2,073 new recoveries reported on Thursday, said the DGHS.
Amid the rising dengue cases, hospitals and clinics in the capital Dhaka are crammed with dengue patients.
On Thursday Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, one of the largest public hospitals in Dhaka, was seen flooded by hundreds of patients.
Md Khalilur Rahman, director of the hospital, told Xinhua that the dengue outbreak this year occurred much earlier than in other years and increased significantly in July.
He said the number of patients in the hospital was mounting every day. "Initially we kept here fewer beds dedicated (for dengue patients), but later we made separate wards for male, female and children."
As so many patients were coming, he said, the hospital could not admit all of them.
"We only admit the patients who have poor and ominous signs. And those who is stable, we send them home after treatment, they are advised to eat liquid food and have enough rest."
If someone develops a fever, he or she should first be tested to determine whether he or she has dengue, Rahman said.
"Our test pressure has increased almost fivefold," said the doctor, adding that there was a possibility of an increase of dengue cases in August and September. It appears that this year's dengue situation is worsening rapidly, with a high infection rate and death toll.
The June-September monsoon period is the season of dengue fever in Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi government has already asked state agencies for more coordinated efforts to rein in the outbreak of dengue.
Dengue fever causes an acute illness that usually follows symptoms such as headache, high fever, exhaustion, severe muscle and joint pain, swollen glands, vomiting and rash. ■