Metropolis Desk-
According to the Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the country’s increasing dengue infections represent a crisis danger, but the moment has not yet come to declare a public health emergency.
DGHS Professor Dr. ABM Khurshid Alam told reporters at a virtual news conference held by the health directorate on Sunday (16 July) that “If the infection rate rises, we will enter a crisis. However, there is currently no crisis about treating dengue patients. The time to declare a public health emergency has not come yet, he said.
“We do not perceive a scenario in this manner. During the Covid-19 outbreak, a public health emergency was declared. If necessary, this should be addressed at the policy level, and we have already voiced our concerns” he added.
According to Dr. Khurshid Alam, the Mugda Medical College Hospital in Dhaka has the largest concentration of dengue patients. Mugda Hospital has 500 beds available for dengue patients. But there are roughly 600 patients who have been admitted.
In close-by places like Shonir Akhra, Jatrabari, Sabujbagh, Kadamtali, Basabo, and Rampura, there are a lot of dengue cases. At the hospital, the majority of them are receiving care. They refused our attempts to move some of the patients from that location. They desire to receive care nearby their residences.
He added that other hospitals’ beds are vacant but are gradually filling up as the number of dengue cases rises alarmingly.
He said, “We have taken measures to overcome the shortage of labor in hospitals. However, because the monsoon started later this year, there is concern that the dengue season may be prolonged. All government hospitals in the capital have dengue treatment services.
A team from the health directorate has been tasked with monitoring private hospitals to ensure that they do not charge more for treating dengue patients, according to Dr. Md. Anwar Hossain Howlader, the secretary of the Health Services Division.
He added that private hospitals will face legal punishment if they fail to give the names of dengue patients they have admitted within 24 hours.
