Efforts will be made to bring dengue vaccine if WHO approves: Health Minister

Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque has said efforts will be made to bring dengue vaccine if approved by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The minister said this at a press conference on human papilloma virus (HPD) vaccination to prevent cervical cancer at the secretariat on Monday.

“The vaccine (dengue vaccine) has not yet been developed. If the World Health Organisation approves it, we will try to bring this vaccine,” said the minister

"We found that the number of patients was very high in July, we got about 45,000 patients. In 2022, there were only 1,500. We got 15,000 patients in August. In all, 66,700 patients have been treated and 313 have died. The mortality rate did not increase as much as the number of patients. The number of deaths has increased due to the increase in the number of patients,” he said.

“To control dengue, you have to control the Aedes mosquito. Where this mosquito is born, the larvae should be destroyed by spraying. There are city corporations, municipalities, we have advised them,” said Zahid.

“We are getting dengue patients from every district, which means Aedes mosquito has spread in every district. Measures need to be taken to control Aedes mosquitoes not only in Dhaka city but across the country and this programme needs to continue throughout the year,” the minister added.

There are 3,000 beds for dengue in Dhaka, the health minister said, adding that “Now 2,100 patients are admitted. The rest of the beds are empty. There are patients outside Dhaka. There are 5,000 beds ready in hospitals outside Dhaka. More than 9,000 dengue patients are admitted across the country.”

“The need for saline has increased by 10 times. A patient admitted to the hospital needs 4-5]five bags of saline. As a result, 40,000 bags of saline are needed every day. Hospitals are struggling to get saline but are getting it. Those who make saline have been asked to increase production. I hope the treatment is not disrupted due to saline,” the minister also said.

“We treat, we take whatever measures are necessary to provide treatment. The patient‍‍`s condition suddenly worsens and he dies. This requires special training. Doctors and nurses have been trained. I‍‍`m letting people know how to prevent it. It‍‍`s a multisectoral approach, everyone has to work together,” he said.