Helemul Alam

A new insecticide to kill mosquitos is expected to arrive in the country in a few days and, after necessary lab tests, it will be imported within the next couple of weeks, lawyers of the two Dhaka city corporations told the High Court yesterday.

When the country is grappling with a record number of dengue cases, different hospitals, clinics and diagnostic centres face a short supply of a kit that is needed to detect the fever at the early stage.

After the dengue outbreak spread to almost every district in the country, health experts now fear the viral fever will spread further and faster during Eid vacation, when tens of thousands of people are expected to head home.

Doctors and nurses in hospitals around the city are being overworked and resources are stretching thin due to the ongoing record dengue outbreak.

Last Sunday, when Shahjadi Akter’s five-year-old daughter began running a fever, she rushed the child to Dhaka Medical College Hospital from her Hosni Dalan house. Doctors there diagnosed her with dengue, but could not admit her due to a lack of beds.

There are very little mosquito control activities in the newly formed 36 wards of the two Dhaka city corporations. The north and south city corporations of the city do not even have any funds allocated for combating mosquitos and managing garbage in the areas.

Ripa, a resident of Narayanganj city, got admitted to a private hospital in Siddhirganj with fever on Tuesday. The following day, the doctors there referred the 26-year-old woman to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, suspecting she had been infected with dengue.

After Antor Dutta, a 17-year-old college student, woke up with a fever on Tuesday morning, he was taken to Narsingdi Medical College Hospital. Doctors there gave him some medicines and advised him to take proper rest.

Infected with dengue haemorrhagic fever, Abdur Razzak was admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital on Saturday.

Dengue may be fatal for those who had already contracted the disease before, with doctors suggesting immediate treatment at the first sign of a fever for everyone.

With dengue taking an alarming turn in the capital, Selina Begum did her best to protect her family members from the viral disease.

Amid a concerning rise in dengue cases in Dhaka, both its city corporations have decided to monitor the effectiveness of its insecticide, as the current stock was found to be ineffective in killing mosquitoes.

The number of recorded dengue fever cases in May and June was more than five times that of the corresponding months of last year, and things are getting even worse.

Thirty-year-old Bellal Hossain could not dig any grave in the last three months as he has been indisposed with lower back pain -- due to digging work for the last 10 years at Jurain graveyard.

The dengue situation in the country is getting worse this year as the number of infected people has more than doubled since last month, compared with the same period last year.

The government is going to shift chemical warehouses of Old Dhaka to Kathaldia in Gazipur’s Tongi temporarily, as the long-time plan to set up a permanent hub will take time.

In Dhakeshwari area in the old part of the city, a signboard reading “Moshok Nibaroni Daptor” stands out, especially for citizens tired of the mosquito menace that shows no signs of ending.

“Jahaj Bari” -- the ship-shaped building on Old Dhaka’s Chawk Circular Road famed for its aesthetic value -- was demolished on Wednesday night, the night of Eid-ul-Fitr.

With his seven-month-old nephew on his lap, Mohammad Shohag, along with his siblings, was seen waiting at the Kamalapur Railway Station to catch the Nilphamari-bound Nilsagar Express.

With major fire incidents jolting the capital in recent months, citizens and businesspeople are taking initiatives to address fire safety. And while the efforts are visible, they may not be adequate.