Bangladesh striving against double burden: Dengue outbreak surges amid COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

As one of the least developed countries of South Asia, Bangladesh continues experiencing a surge in the number of patients with dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), while struggling with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The number of infected patients and deaths due to COVID-19 had risen rapidly since the beginning of July 2021 and broken all the previous records. The total number of dengue cases was also the highest in July. Now, the country is facing an unprecedented challenge of tackling a co-epidemic. Impoverished health infrastructure, ineffective intervention schemes against the disease and lack of awareness has made the country vulnerable to a risk of co-epidemic. Therefore, government and local authorities should take immediate actions, including capacity-building programs for both COVID-19 and dengue, while community engagement campaigns focusing on the destruction of breeding sources of Aedes mosquitoes can play a key role in reducing the effect of dengue at an early stage.