The escalating dengue situation in Bangladesh has emerged as a serious public health problem in terms of morbidity and mortality. Analysis of 40,476 cases between 2000 and 2017 indicated that 49.73 percent of dengue cases occurred during the monsoon season (May–August) and 49.22 percent during the post-monsoon season (September–December). However, data also showed that these trends have been changing since 2014 and that dengue cases have been reported during the pre-monsoon season. In 2015–2017, pre-monsoon dengue cases were reported to be more than seven times higher compared to the previous 14 years. These findings closely correlate with those of the pre-monsoon Aedes vector survey, which revealed the presence of a high density of larva and pupa of the dengue vectors in the environment all year round. In our study, changes in climate after 2014 — such as average rainfall, humidity and temperature — and rapid unplanned urbanisation were strong predictors of an imbalance in the existing ecology that led to an increase in dengue cases in 2016 and the emergence of the chikungunya virus for the first time in Bangladesh in 2017. 

Click here to download

Country: Bangladesh