Bangladesh is currently experiencing the worst dengue fever outbreak in the country’s history. Experts point to climate change as a contributing factor to this.
They state that rising temperatures and a longer monsoon season have created optimal conditions for the Aedes mosquito, which carries the disease.
According to official data, the number of deaths has reached 1,400 this year, or five times greater than in 2022. Meanwhile, the number of people infected has reached 300 thousand people.
Hospitals are struggling to treat patients amid the disease’s rapid spread in the densely populated country.
Kabirul Basha, an entomologist and zoologist at Jahangirnagar University, has spent the majority of his career studying mosquitoes. As authorities struggled to contain the spread and treat those who were sick, Bashar decided to intensify his research on the mosquitoes that spread the disease.
“Temperature, humidity and a number of other components have experienced changes in patterns due to climate change. We are experiencing monsoon-like rain in mid-October which is actually not common. This changing seasonal pattern creates an ideal situation for the breeding of Aedes mosquitoes. The Aedes mosquito adapts to these changes. Also, stagnant rainwater presents the perfect place for Aedes mosquitoes to lay their eggs and increase their density.”
Doctors have noted unusual symptoms this year, which complicates diagnosis. And many people have no symptoms, suggesting that the number of cases could be much higher than reported.
With no specific vaccine or medicine to treat fever, and with many hospitals facing shortages of key supplies, Bashar suggested that vector monitoring and studies of how the disease spread be carried out year-round in Bangladesh. (ns/em)