HQ Team
September 22, 2025: At least 12 people have died, and 740 new patients were admitted to hospitals as dengue cases in the South Asian nation of Bangladesh registered the largest single-day rise last week.
Dengue has killed about 179 people and infected 41,831 people in the country since January this year, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.
Six of the patients who died last week were women, and the rest were men. Their ages ranged from 24 to 65 years. More than 680 patients were discharged from hospitals a week ago, according to a statement from the health authorities.
Dengue or break-bone fever is a viral infection that is spread from mosquitoes to people. It is more common in tropical and subtropical than in temperate climates.
High fever, rash
The virus is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female mosquitoes, primarily the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Other species within the Aedes genus can also act as vectors, but their contribution is normally secondary to Aedes aegypti, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Most people who get dengue do not have symptoms. For those who do, the most common symptoms are high fever, headache, body aches, nausea and rash. Most get better in one to two weeks. Some develop severe dengue and need care in a hospital. In severe cases, dengue can be fatal.
Dengue is treated through pain management, as there is no specific treatment currently. Symptoms begin four to 10 days after infection and last for about a week. It may include high fever (40°C/104°F), severe headache, and pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pains, nausea, vomiting, swollen glands and rash.
The incidence of dengue has grown dramatically worldwide in recent decades, with the number of cases reported to the World Health Organization increasing from 505,430 cases in 2000 to 14.6 million in 2024.
SERO report
A majority of cases are asymptomatic or mild and self-managed, and for the same reason, the actual numbers of dengue cases are under-reported. The disease is now endemic in more than 100 countries, according to the WHO.
Weather patterns have a direct influence on the disease. In Bangladesh, the monsoon is lasting longer than predicted.
Dengue cases have shot up in Bangladesh over the past couple of months. The total of cases reported so far in 2025 is higher than the total reported in the same period in 2024, according to an August 2025 report by the WHO Region of South-East Asia and West Pacific nations.
India continues reporting cases of dengue, too. A decrease has been noted in the southern states of Kerala and Karnataka. In both states, the cases were lower compared to the same period last year. Cases of dengue have also been reported by Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nepal and the Maldives.
