Bangladesh's dengue death toll nears 400, cases surpass 85,000

DHAKA, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Eleven more dengue deaths were confirmed in a 24-hour period in Bangladesh, bringing the total number of fatalities in the country so far this year to 398, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

With the daily rise of 2,905 cases reported in the last 24 hours as of 8:00 local time on Sunday, the number of confirmed dengue cases increased to 85,411 since January, according to the figure of the DGHS under the Ministry of Health.

During the last 24 hours, 2,991 more patients were released from hospitals and clinics, bringing the number of recovered patients in the country to 75,280, the DGHS data showed.

The deaths of this year include 147 in August, 204 in July and 34 in June.

During the first 13 days in August, 33,579 more dengue cases were recorded after 43,854 people were infected with the mosquito-borne disease last month, showed the DGHS data.

Dengue fever, a viral disease transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, causes an acute illness that usually develops symptoms such as headache, high fever, exhaustion, severe muscle and joint pain, swollen glands, vomiting and rash.