The government has stepped up hospital facilities countrywide ensuring adequate beds, diagnostic kits, medicines and intravenous fluids up to upazila level, resulting in making dengue fatality rate lowest so far compared to the last three years.

The government has already taken coordinated efforts, including widespread awareness campaigns, cleanliness drives and easy access to dengue treatment, keeping the dengue fatality rate at 0.31 percent as of October 6 with 281 deaths this year against 0.53 percent with 1,705 in 2023, 0.49 percent with 482 in 2024 and 0.34 percent with 323 deaths in 2025, officials said.

During the same period last year, the death rate was 0.42 percent.

In line with the government instruction, the hospitals across the country have taken comprehensive measures, including increasing bed capacity, opening one stop service and dedicated dengue wards, stocking adequate diagnostic kits and intravenous fluids, and offering free dengue NS1 tests particularly at government hospitals, to tackle the dengue situation.

The Mugda Medical College Hospital here, where 225 dengue patients remain admitted till October 6, raised its bed capacity to 200 from 60 beds -- 20 for children and 40 for adults, by converting two floors into dedicated dengue wards.

Hospital Deputy Director Dr Muhammad Nurul Islam said the facility has also introduced a one-stop service for dengue patients, enabling them to receive diagnostic and other necessary services without leaving their wards.

He said doctors involved in dengue treatment recently attended an in-house seminar, while physicians from the medicine and paediatrics departments regularly hold morning sessions on dengue management, effectively contributing to help reduce the fatality rate.

Besides, Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), with 231 dengue patients remain admitted till October 6, is currently managing dengue patients in three dedicated wards -- wards 402, 502 and 702, with the latter dedicated to female patients.

DMCH Head of Dengue Unit Professor Shahnoor Sharmin Munni said although the designated capacity of each ward is around 50 beds, additional beds are being arranged according to patient pressure, as the number of dengue patients is not static.

The hospital has adequate supplies of essential items required for dengue management, including intravenous fluids, IV sets, paracetamol, medicines for vomiting and gastric problems and plasma solutions used as special fluids, she said.

Kurmitola Multicare Specialized Hospital in the city also expanded its dengue treatment capacity by adding 100 more beds as the number of dengue patients continues to rise, hospital Director Brigadier General Md Saydur Rahman said.

"We have opened another 100 beds on the eighth floor of the hospital, including 50 for male and 50 for female patients, and we have already started admitting patients there," he said, adding, the health ministry has assigned six doctors and 10 nurses to the hospital specifically for dengue treatment to augment the existing workforce.

Saydur Rahman said the 1,200-bed hospital currently has 106 dengue patients admitted till October 6, while around 200 beds are being kept specifically for dengue patients, in addition to 50 beds available at the emergency department.

Noting that not every dengue patient needs hospital admission, he said, only around 10 to 15 percent of patients, with more serious symptoms including bleeding, severe diarrhoea or vomiting that cannot be controlled, are admitted for closer monitoring and treatment.

BSS Khulna office reports: As the Khulna has emerged as the second highest hotspots, different government and other health faculties have taken a series of measures to combat the dengue situation.

Considering the density of dengue infections, nine free medical camps have been established in different parts of Khulna city while free dengue testing services were provided throughout the week at city health centres.

At Khulna Medical College Hospital, dengue patients are receiving treatment in four wards and adjacent verandahs. The KCC has provided 30 beds to the hospital with funds equivalent to one day's salary contributed by its officials and employees, taking the hospital's total dengue bed capacity to 150.

Besides the public hospital, dengue patients are also being admitted and treated at private healthcare facilities, including Khulna City Medical College Hospital and Islami Bank Hospital.

The ruling BNP has also launched free dengue testing services and temporary hospitals in different city wards while the Khulna Diabetic Association introduced a dengue testing service at a cost of only Taka 100 per test.

Talking to BSS, DGHS Director (Hospital and Clinics) Dr Md Nurul Islam said as the country is witnessing an upward trend of dengue infection, especially in the capital; the government is considering reopening the field hospital on the DMCH premises to accommodate the increasing number of patients.

At the same time, authorities are considering transferring some patients from the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, if space is available there, to facilitate dengue treatment.

Noting that the country has adequate diagnostic kits, medicines and intravenous fluids to tackle dengue situation, Dr Nurul Islam said the government has collected information on the stocks of saline from different hospitals and are taking steps to ensure additional supplies.

"We have asked the Central Medical Stores Depot (CMSD) and Essential Drugs Company Limited (EDCL) to maintain adequate stocks considering the projected demand for the coming months," he said.

Recently, the director said, the United States (US) through the STRIDES programme has provided 500,000 dengue NS1 rapid diagnostic test kits to Bangladesh, enabling the country to ensure necessary testing and treatment even if the number of dengue cases increases in any part of the country.

Besides, Dr Nurul Islam said 1,600 doctors have been given training on the clinical management of dengue under the 2025 dengue treatment guideline aimed at ensuring doctors follow a standardised approach to diagnosing and treating dengue patients and prevent deaths caused by errors in clinical management.

The DGHS official said authorities are also ensuring that dengue patients use mosquito nets in hospital wards to prevent further transmission.