The United States has given Bangladesh 500,000 dengue NS1 rapid diagnostic test kits to help identify patients and manage treatment during the current dengue outbreak. The kits were provided through the STRIDES programme funded by the US government.
US chargé d’affaires in Bangladesh Trishita Moula handed over the kits to Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain at Kurmitola Multicare Specialised Hospital in the capital on Thursday. The minister ordered the kits to be distributed quickly across the country. The handover was held at the hospital because of traffic and access, he said, but all the kits will go to the Central Medical Stores Depot (CMSD) and then be sent through the health directorate to district and upazila hospitals as needed.
Alongside the new kits, the public sector has adequate stocks of dengue antigen kits and IV saline, so the health department is ready to ensure testing and treatment wherever cases rise, Sakhawat Hossain said.
The government is also considering introducing a dengue vaccine in Bangladesh, the minister said. As the vaccine is costly, its effectiveness and safety must be assured, and talks are under way with WHO, UNICEF and Gavi, with a final decision to follow international guidelines.
Health services division additional secretary Md Rafiqul Islam, health directorate additional director general Professor Dr Md Zahid Raihan, the hospital’s director Brigadier General Md Saidur Rahman and senior officials of the US embassy and health ministry attended, and later visited the hospital’s dengue ward and diagnostic laboratory.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report