At Mugda Hospital, Dhaka doctors no longer know where to prioritize: three of its ten floors are filled with patients who have fallen victim to an unprecedented dengue epidemic.

21-year-old Nupur Akter tries to feed his little sister Payel, who has no appetite. Two weeks ago, the six-year-old was rushed to hospital “with uncontrollable chills”.

Since then Nupur has seen signs of improvement. However, he has the impression that the little girl has lost weight.

This year’s outbreak of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne disease, is the worst ever recorded in Bangladesh, with a record 1,030 deaths and more than 210,000 confirmed cases recorded by hospitals since early 2023. Last year the disease had claimed the lives of a total of 281 people.

Dengue cases are on the rise due to climate change, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

This endemic disease of the tropics causes high fevers, headaches, nausea, vomiting, myalgias and, in the most severe cases, bleeding that can lead to death.

According to the director of Mughda Hospital, Mohammad Niamatuzaman, the general practitioners are facing such a burden that they have had to call in their colleagues from different specialties to help them.

“This is an emergency, but a long-term emergency“, he told AFP, adding that the hospital has already recorded 158 dengue-related deaths this year, five times the number from last year.

“I’m afraid”

Over 1,000 patients, including 200 dengue patients on three floors, are being treated at Mughda Hospital with only 400 beds available. Thousands more are treated in outpatient clinics.

Mohammad Shabuz, a 40-year-old jeweler from Dhaka’s Konapara suburb, who was rushed to hospital and has now recovered, expresses concern that “almost every house” in his neighborhood has a dengue patient.

“In my lab, three out of four workers had dengue“, says the father of three boys.

One of his friends who is a doctor died. “The fact that a doctor couldn’t save himself scares me“, he adds, “if something happens to me at this age, what will become of my family and my children?”

Although hospitalization is free, some drugs still cost patients. The public medical examination center is overwhelmed and private laboratories are too expensive for a large part of the population.

Abdul Hakim, 38, a construction worker, looks after his two-year-old son. “The day my son developed a fever, I lost my job,” said the father of two, whose salary is the family’s only means of living.

“Loan” to save his son

“I pay for tests, medicines, among other hospital expenses, thanks to a loan (…) for his treatment“, continues.

A quarter of dengue patients at Mughda Hospital are children. A total of about 10% of people who die from dengue are children under the age of 15.

Bangladesh has been dealing with dengue cases since the 1960s, but its first outbreak was recorded in 2000. Scientists attribute this year’s outbreak to erratic rainfall and higher temperatures during the monsoons, which create ideal conditions for mosquitoes to breed.

According to the WHO, dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases are spreading faster and more widely due to climate change.

The director of Mugda Hospital pointed out that his hospital is now accepting patients from rural areas, where dengue has never been seen before.

This is what happened to Alep Kari from rural Shariatpur, where health services have now reached their limits.

“In all my life I have seldom heard of this disease“, says the 65-year-old, whose wife also has dengue and is in hospital.

“It is the first time we have had this ‘fever’ in our village,” he continues. “Many have been infected“.