BD dengue outbreak worsens

Bangladesh is considering carrying out clinical trials of a vaccine against dengue fever after thousands of patients have been hospitalised with the disease and hundreds have died, a minister said on Tuesday.

More than 90,350 people have been hospitalised with dengue and 281 have died since the beginning of the year, according to health ministry data. As the outbreak has intensified, in October alone, 10,736 people have been hospitalised and 36 people have died in a country whose healthcare system is also under severe pressure from a measles outbreak that has killed more than 1,100 children.

Recent rainfall has created perfect conditions for mosquito breeding, raising concerns the outbreak of dengue could get worse. Spread by mosquito bites, the virus can cause fever and severe muscle and joint pain.