It is the worst outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease ever recorded in the country. Since the beginning of 2023, more than 1,000 people have died from dengue fever in Bangladesh. Figures from the Directorate-General for Health Services released on Sunday evening, October 1, show that 1,006 people have died, including 112 children under the age of 15, including infants. more than 200,000 confirmed cases.

According to former health director Be-Nazir Ahmed, the number of deaths recorded since the start of the year is higher than in all previous years combined since 2000, when Bangladesh’s first dengue outbreak was recorded. “This is a major health event in Bangladesh and around the world”he told AFP.

Rainfall and temperature involved

Scientists attributed the 2023 outbreak to irregular rainfall and warmer temperatures during the annual monsoon, which created ideal conditions for mosquito breeding. In September, the World Health Organization warned: this type of epidemic is like “canary in the climate crisis coal mine”said the agency’s specialist Abdi Mahamud, invoking the metaphor of a small bird that warns of great danger.