Dengue claims 1,700 lives, AIDS claims 266 in Bangladesh this year

The mosquito-borne dengue fever has claimed more than 1,700 lives and infected over 300,000 people so far this year across Bangladesh, reported Xinhua.

According to the latest statistics of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the dengue prevalence has reached an alarming situation this year, with a total of 320,945 cases and 1,701 deaths recorded as of Dec. 28.

The data showed that the dengue deaths this year included 79 in December, 274 in November, and 359 in October.

The country experienced its highest spike in dengue cases in September, with 79,598 new infections and 396 deaths reported.

Meanwhile, a total of 266 people have died of HIV/AIDS-related complications so far this year in Bangladesh, the highest on record since the first patient was detected in 1989 in the South Asian country, according to authorities.

Meanwhile, the country recorded 1,276 infections with AIDS so far this year, the National Tuberculosis, Leprosy and AIDS Control Program of Bangladesh's Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said at a press conference here on Wednesday.

Of those infected this year, 1,118 are Bangladeshi citizens, and the remaining 158 are Rohingyas from Myanmar residing in different camps in Bangladesh's southeastern Cox's Bazar district, it said.

Presenting the statistics, Program Director Md Mahfuzur Rahman Sarkar said a total of 947 patients were identified across the country with 232 deaths in 2022.

The first AIDS patient in Bangladesh was identified in 1989. Since then, 10,984 patients have been diagnosed, with 2,086 deaths. However, the DGHS estimates that the number of people carrying HIV exceeds 15,000 in Bangladesh.