At least 12,000 dengue patients have been hospitalised across Bangladesh between August 12 and 18, health officials said on August 19.

Over the last one week, hospitals outside Dhaka were receiving more dengue patients than those in the capital, The Daily Star newspaper reported. In 24 hours as of 8 p.m. on August 18, 972 dengue patients were admitted to hospitals across the country compared to Dhaka's 734.

With the number of patients rising, hospitals outside Dhaka were facing huge challenges to cope with the pressure due to the inadequate provision of health facilities especially in remote and rural areas. The 500-bed Faridpur Medical College Hospital is now handling 751 patients, 277 of them dengue patients, said Kamoda Prosad Saha, superintendent of the hospital.

The hospital has half the required manpower, and the current flow of dengue patients has increased their burden, he said. The current spell of dengue started from Dhaka and was now spreading fast to outlying districts as a huge number of people travelled from the capital to different districts during Eid vacation, health experts said.