With hospitals still struggling to cope with more than 900 daily measles admissions, a surge in dengue cases threatens to further strain the healthcare system and increase the risk of more deaths, health experts have warned.

Major public hospitals in Dhaka, which handled thousands of dengue patients in previous years, remain heavily occupied by measles cases. Experts fear a rise in dengue infections could stretch already limited resources and disrupt treatment services.

Since measles patients require strict isolation due to the disease’s highly contagious nature, they cannot be accommodated alongside dengue patients, further complicating hospital management.

Fazle Rabbi Chowdhury, associate professor, BMU

The concern is particularly acute because the DNCC Dedicated Covid-19 Hospital, which treated the highest number of dengue patients last year, has been operating exclusively as a measles hospital since mid-March.

It is no longer admitting dengue patients, likely shifting the burden to other hospitals in the capital.

June marked a sharp increase in dengue infections and fatalities, accounting for 48 percent of all cases and 72 percent of deaths recorded so far this year.

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Health experts fear both figures may climb further during July and August, the peak monsoon months, unless efforts are intensified to control dengue-carrying Aedes mosquitoes.

Fazle Rabbi Chowdhury, associate professor of the Department of Internal Medicine at Bangladesh Medical University (BMU), said measles cases have started to decline, but not as quickly as expected.

“At the same time, the monsoon is creating ideal conditions for mosquito breeding, and dengue cases have already started rising. This will definitely put additional pressure on hospitals,” he told The Daily Star yesterday.

To avert a larger public health crisis, he and other experts urged authorities to intensify larval control, expand temporary treatment facilities, and establish dedicated dengue units to manage the dual disease burden.

DENGUE RISING, MEASLES PERSIST

Bangladesh is experiencing its worst measles outbreak in recent history.

Between March 15 and June 30, 718 people died from measles or measles-like symptoms, while more than 1,13,000 patients -- mostly children -- were hospitalised, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

An emergency measles-rubella vaccination campaign conducted in April and May covered 18.4 million children and helped slow transmission of the highly contagious disease.

Despite that, hospitals continue to receive a large number of patients every day.

DGHS data show that 33,066 confirmed and suspected measles cases were reported in June -- an average of 1,102 cases a day.

During the month, 27,741 patients were hospitalised with measles or measles-like symptoms, averaging 925 admissions daily.

Between March 15 and June 30, a total of 85,509 patients were admitted to hospitals with measles or measles-like symptoms. Of them, 81,882 have been discharged, leaving 3,627 still undergoing treatment.

At the same time, dengue infections have been climbing with the onset of the monsoon, the peak breeding season for Aedes mosquitoes.

Of the 6,104 dengue patients hospitalised during the first six months of this year, 2,907, or 48 percent, were admitted in June alone, according to DGHS data.

The country has recorded 18 dengue-related deaths so far this year, 13 of them, or 72 percent, in June. Yesterday, another patient died and 163 more were hospitalised.

Prof Kabirul Bashar, an entomologist at Jahangirnagar University, warned that dengue cases are likely to rise sharply over the next two months, with districts outside Dhaka facing the greatest risk.

“Based on our forecasting model, a major surge is expected in August, particularly in districts under Barishal and Chattogram divisions, as well as several other parts of the country,” he recently told this newspaper.

He urged authorities to strengthen mosquito control in district towns by eliminating Aedes breeding sites, expanding larviciding operations and ensuring greater community participation.

HOSPITALS UNDER PRESSURE

The 600-bed DNCC Dedicated Covid-19 Hospital, which has 55 ICU beds, treated 6,484 dengue patients last year, according to DGHS data, although the hospital’s own records put the figure at 7,205.

Since being converted into a dedicated measles hospital in mid-March, it has stopped admitting dengue patients. The hospital treated 81 dengue patients before the conversion.

“We have measles patients on every floor, so we cannot admit dengue patients here. If a dengue patient gets infected with measles, his or her condition could worsen further,” Administrative Officer Asif Haider told this correspondent yesterday.

The hospital has treated 9,584 measles patients so far, with 382 still admitted as of yesterday.

“The number of measles patients declined after Eid-ul-Azha, but not significantly,” he added.

Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute, regarded as the country’s main referral centre for critically ill child dengue patients, treated 584 dengue patients last year, though its internal records show the number was 917.

The 681-bed hospital has also become a key treatment centre for severe measles cases. It has treated 1,487 measles patients so far, with 99 still admitted, according to data available yesterday.

“It would have been better if we could treat dengue patients without the pressure of measles cases. But we are still ready to deal with dengue patients,” Prof Mirza Md Ziaul Islam, director of Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute, told The Daily Star yesterday.

He added that the hospital was preparing a makeshift ward to accommodate dengue patients.

Dhaka Medical College Hospital, the country’s largest public hospital, treated 3,723 dengue patients last year and has a 50-bed dedicated dengue ward.

Yesterday, 35 dengue patients were being treated in that ward, while another 32 measles patients were receiving treatment in a separate unit, the hospital’s Deputy Director Ashraful Alam said.

BMU’s Fazle Rabbi said the overlapping outbreaks pose a serious challenge because both diseases disproportionately affect children, while dengue also carries greater risks for older adults.

Since measles patients require strict isolation due to the disease’s highly contagious nature, they cannot be accommodated alongside dengue patients, further complicating hospital management, he said.

He called on health authorities to establish makeshift treatment facilities and dedicated dengue units not only in Dhaka but also in divisional and district hospitals to prepare for the expected rise in cases.

Meanwhile, the health ministry yesterday held an emergency meeting on dengue preparedness and control, chaired by Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain. Senior officials from the ministry, the DGHS, and civil surgeons joined the meeting.

Contacted, Health Secretary Quamruzzaman Chowdhury said officials had been instructed to prioritise the dengue response by setting aside dedicated beds for patients and ensuring an adequate supply of medicines and saline.

He claimed the measles outbreak was now under control and hospital admissions were expected to decline further soon.

Prof Halimur Rashid, DGHS director (disease control), told this newspaper that city corporations had already been asked to intensify mosquito control measures.

Asked about the DNCC hospital’s inability to admit dengue patients, he said authorities would review the situation once measles cases declined further.