At least four people have died after they were diagnosed with the dengue virus in Bangladesh, officials on Tuesday said, bringing the death toll in the current outbreak to 12 in the South Asian country.
A man and a woman undergoing treatment for dengue died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, according to hospital official Nasir Uddin.
Two men aged 18 and 24 died two days after they were admitted to Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital in southern district of Barishal, hospital chief Bakir Hossain said.
The government has reported eight dengue deaths at different hospitals in the country since March.
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Physicians at both public and private hospitals have been struggling with a surge of dengue patients since the outbreak was declared in June, with 1,863 people having the virus.
Ayesha Akter, a Health Ministry official, said a total of 13,637 people were diagnosed with dengue in 63 of Bangladesh’s 64 administrative districts since January.
The number of cases jumped with the advent of monsoon rain in June as damp and hot conditions support the breeding of the Aedes, the mosquito that transmits the virus.
Television footage showed patients being treated on hospital floors and in corridors due to overcrowding of health care facilities.(NAN)