Dengue infection may peak in early October: Health Deputy Minister

He said these things as the chief guest at a seminar organized at Dhaka Reporters Unity on Wednesday morning.

The Deputy Health Minister said a three-month campaign will be carried out involving volunteer organizations and the general public to combat dengue. Along with keeping homes and workplaces clean, everyone must come forward to destroy Aedes mosquito breeding grounds.

He said city corporations, local government and the health ministry will jointly carry out cleanliness, public awareness and mosquito larva destruction activities. Reducing the number of dengue infections and deaths is the main goal of the government.

The Deputy Minister said about three thousand doctors have already been retrained in dengue management, and this process will continue at district and upazila levels as well.

Preparations have been made in advance so that hospitals do not face shortages of beds, saline and testing kits if dengue infections increase. There are adequate testing kits and saline in stock compared to the current number of patients, and designated dengue beds have been activated in government hospitals.

Calling on private hospitals to remain prepared for the possible peak dengue transmission period, he said they too must play a role in treating patients if necessary. At the same time, unreasonable expenses in dengue treatment cannot be increased, and designated beds must be kept for patients.