OMM Newsroom
The number of people who have died from dengue in Bangladesh this year has exceeded the total for all of 2025. AnewZ, citing data from Bangladesh’s Ministry of Health, reported that 418 people had died and more than 133,000 had been hospitalized as of Oct. 30.
Dengue killed 413 people across the country in 2025, while 102,861 people contracted the disease.
Bangladesh recorded 173 dengue deaths in October, up from 148 in September. October also surpassed September in new infections, making it the year’s most severe month so far.
Bangladesh is also experiencing a widespread measles outbreak. The number of children who died after being diagnosed with confirmed or suspected measles had reached 1,240 by Oct. 27. Health officials said the two epidemics were placing additional pressure on an already overburdened health system.
Patients arriving at hospitals in serious condition
Doctors say many people seek medical care only after their condition has worsened. At Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital in the capital, Dhaka, 279 dengue patients were being treated after 67 new admissions in one day. Hospital director Mirza Gholam Sarwar provided the figures.
“We are admitting many patients in shock. Their blood pressure sometimes drops so low that it cannot be measured, while their oxygen levels also fall,” Sarwar said.
Internal medicine specialist ABM Abdullah linked the rise in severe cases and deaths to repeat infections, as well as delays in diagnosis and treatment. People who have had dengue before may be at risk of more severe illness if they contract it again, he said.
Abdullah urged people to eliminate places where mosquitoes breed and seek medical care as soon as symptoms appear.
Dhaka resident Faisal Ferdous, 33, has had dengue three times: in 2017, 2024 and November this year. This time, both he and his wife needed hospital treatment.
“Each time, the illness has been difficult. With each repeat infection, you become more concerned about the risk of becoming seriously ill,” Ferdous said.
Dengue season expected to last longer
Dengue is transmitted to people through the bites of Aedes mosquitoes carrying the virus. Most infected people do not develop symptoms. The most common symptoms include high fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, nausea and a rash.
In severe cases, dengue can cause internal bleeding and death. The risk of severe symptoms is higher in people infected for a second time.
Health experts said all four dengue virus serotypes are currently circulating, raising the risk of severe illness. A person who has been infected with one strain can contract another. Bangladesh has no dengue vaccine, although authorities are considering vaccination as a long-term measure.
Entomologist Kabirul Bashar of Jahangirnagar University in Dhaka said a continued rapid rise in deaths after October was unlikely, but infections could continue through November.
“The decline will probably be slight; no significant improvement is expected before December,” Bashar said.
Bashar added that mosquitoes would continue to emerge from breeding sites formed after earlier rains, even if the weather became dry. Changes in rainfall and humidity patterns, partly linked to climate change, are extending the breeding season and keeping Aedes mosquitoes active for longer, he said.
