Dengue patients crowd Suhrawardy hospital

Soniya Akhter, 25, a resident of Mirpur-1, has been undergoing treatment at the dengue ward of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital since Wednesday night.

She had been suffering from fever for a week but went for a dengue test only on the sixth day, which worsened her condition.

"We took medicine from a dispensary thinking it was a normal viral fever, but we admitted her to the hospital when her condition deteriorated," said her sister, Faria Islam.

Faria said Soniya had been suffering from vomiting, fever, and abdominal pain at the time of admission.

Echoing a similar experience, Eshrat Jahan Surovi, an eleventh-grade student from Farmgate, said she also took the dengue test three days after her fever began.

Mohammad Harish Mollah, 22, a resident of Shewrapara, said, "My platelet count dropped to 11,000, and I had to take one bag of blood for that." He too took the NS1 dengue test three days after his fever started.

Like them, many dengue patients have been admitted to the dengue ward of the hospital, putting heavy pressure on the facility. Many of the admitted patients are in critical condition.

Currently, 58 patients are receiving treatment at the 60-bed dengue ward, which has been operational since October 1, said Shahnaz Parveen, senior staff nurse of the hospital.

She said more patients were expected to be admitted on Thursday evening, but the hospital would be able to accommodate only five to six new patients as some would be discharged by then.

"If more dengue patients arrive, they will initially be admitted to the medicine wards and later shifted here when beds become available," she said.

She added that while most patients are from Dhaka city, some are also coming from outside the capital.

Medical experts said people often ignore early symptoms and delay testing, which leads to complications.

"My brother was admitted to Ma O Shishu Hospital in Noakhali on October 5, but doctors referred him here as his platelet count dropped to 4,000," said Md Nayeem, Fahim's brother.

"He has been given three bags of blood, and his condition has improved -- his platelet count has now reached 30,000," he added.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services, 224 patients have died, while 52,885 others have been hospitalised across the country as of Thursday.

The number of dengue patients in Dhaka city has increased sharply in recent weeks. DGHS data show a significant rise in cases in the Dhaka division compared to other regions.

HM Nazmul Ahsan, associate professor at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, said the patient flow has been extremely high for the past week. "Almost all the beds in the ward remain full," he said.

"The number of critical patients is high -- among them are those in shock and suffering from expanded dengue syndrome."

He said patients with expanded dengue syndrome often suffer from severe liver involvement, hepatitis, or multiple organ failure.

He recommended early hospital admission for high-risk groups such as the elderly, pregnant women, and people with comorbidities, and advised dengue patients under home care to drink plenty of fluids, including oral saline, green coconut water, rice starch, soups, and fresh fruit juices.