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🇸🇬 Singapore /Health & Science

Bangladesh dengue outbreak accelerates as hospitals come under strain

From The Straits Times · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Official statement Ongoing story
  • Bangladesh recorded 42,590 dengue hospitalisations and 117 deaths in 2026, with a sharp September rise putting hospitals under pressure.
  • Health experts warn that September could become the year's worst month, while cases have spread across all 64 districts.
  • The government has intensified clean-up and public-awareness efforts as hospitals struggle to find beds for patients.

Bangladesh's dengue outbreak is accelerating, with hospitals recording their highest daily admission total of the year as September begins.

The peak has not been reached yet.

· Kabirul BasharThe medical entomologist warned that dengue transmission could intensify further in September.

Health Ministry data showed that four dengue patients died and 1,558 were hospitalised in the past 24 hours. The figures brought the 2026 total to 42,590 hospitalisations and 117 deaths. The surge has revived concerns after Bangladesh's deadliest dengue outbreak in 2023 and is placing further strain on a health system already dealing with a nationwide measles outbreak that has killed nearly 1,000 children this year.

Professor Kabirul Bashar, a medical entomologist at Jahangirnagar University, said his surveillance and forecasting model indicated that September hospitalisations could exceed 30,000 if current trends continued. Weather conditions could support transmission into October. "The peak has not been reached yet," Bashar said. "If the current trajectory continues, September may become the worst month of the year for dengue infections."

If the current trajectory continues, September may become the worst month of the year for dengue infections.

· Kabirul BasharHe described the outlook from his surveillance and forecasting model.

The shortage of hospital beds has made the outbreak a personal crisis for families. Zahid Hasan said his four-year-old son developed a high fever and was diagnosed with dengue. Hasan took him to three government hospitals but could not find a bed. He eventually secured one at a private hospital, where the child received seven bags of blood and plasma before discharge.

I was terrified. As a father, it was unbearable to watch my child getting worse without knowing where he could be admitted.

· Zahid HasanHasan described struggling to find a hospital bed for his four-year-old son.

Dengue patients can deteriorate after their fever subsides, developing plasma leakage, low blood pressure, shock or severe bleeding. Professor Tarek Alam, a Dhaka physician, urged people not to ignore abdominal pain, dizziness or unusual lethargy. Cases have now been reported in all 64 districts, and experts say the spread of Aedes mosquitoes beyond Dhaka and other major cities is driving infections in rural areas. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has ordered nationwide clean-up and awareness campaigns, including efforts to remove stagnant water.

Those days were a nightmare for us. We were constantly afraid something could happen to him.

· Zahid HasanHe recalled his son's treatment after the child was admitted to a private hospital.
About this summary

Originally published by The Straits Times. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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