On Thursday, at Kurmitola Multicare Specialized Hospital in the capital, US Chargé d’Affaires to Bangladesh Trishita Mowla handed over the kits to Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Hossain.
The health minister said the kits will first be deposited at the Central Medical Stores Depot (CMSD). Later, through the Directorate General of Health Services, they will be sent to all district and upazila hospitals across the country according to demand. He also said there is an adequate stock of dengue antigen kits and IV saline in the public sector.
Noting that the government is considering introducing a dengue vaccine in Bangladesh, the minister said discussions are ongoing with WHO, UNICEF and GAVI, considering the vaccine’s cost, efficacy and safety. A decision on the matter will be made following international guidelines.
Senior officials from the Ministry of Health, the Directorate General of Health Services, Kurmitola Hospital and the US Embassy were present at the event. Later, they visited the hospital’s dengue ward and diagnostic laboratory.
