Death toll in Bangladesh dengue outbreak hits 40

At least 40 people have died from dengue in Bangladesh, with over 50,000 cases reported throughout the country since January, authorities said on Saturday.

The number of confirmed cases recorded was more than five times higher than any other year in the South Asian country that had been struggling to contain the surge of dengue patients.

The highest number of dengue cases recorded in a single year in Bangladesh was 10,148 in 2018, said Abdur Rashid, an official at the Health Emergency Operations Centre, Efe news reported.

Among the affected patients, 7,864 remained in different hospitals across the country, while approximately 85 per cent had already been discharged, according Health Department data.

The department said confirmed 40 deaths by the fever - 39 of them in the capital Dhaka. IANS