Housewife dies of dengue in Madaripur

A woman died of dengue on early Sunday while being shifted to a hospital in Dhaka, reports UNB.

Police said Sumi Akter, 30, wife of Anwar Hossain of Kathalbari village of Shibpur upazila, died around 1:30am at the Mawa ferry terminal in Munshiganj.

Abul Kalam Azad, officer-in-charge of Shibpur Police Station, said Sumi was diagnosed with dengue on August 20.

She was initially taken to the Upazila Sadar Hospital where doctors recommended shifting her to Dhaka for better treatment.

Bangladesh has been fighting an uphill battle against dengue this year. More than 62,000 cases were recorded since January while the government confirmed 47 deaths. Most of them were reported from Dhaka, the overpopulated megacity at the centre of the outbreak.

Currently, 6,289 patients are being treated at different hospitals and clinics.

But the situation appears to be improving as 1,179 new cases were reported in 24 hours till Saturday morning. A minor boy died of the disease at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital on Friday evening.

Dengue, a mosquito-borne viral infection, causes flu-like illness, and occasionally develops into a potentially lethal complication called severe dengue. About half of the world's population is now at risk, the WHO says.

Southeast Asian countries are seeing huge increases in fatal dengue cases this year.

There is no specific treatment for dengue or severe dengue, but early detection and access to proper medical care lowers fatality rates below one percent.