Dengue Control

Collected Dr. Zahid Maleque spoke to the media after the orientation program of MBBS K-80 batch of Dhaka Medical College on Monday.

Controlling dengue is not the job of health ministry: Health Minister

The health minister said, "It is not our job to control dengue, our job is to provide medical care to the patients. The job of the health ministry is to inform the people."

"People's fever can be caused by various reasons. We have told them to get tested quickly if they have a fever," he said. "You know we have reduced the dengue test fee to Tk 50 in government hospitals. We see the number of dengue patients increasing. The number of dengue patients in Dhaka city is increasing along with the number of dengue patients across the country. Our main point is to reduce dengue mosquitoes, then the number of dengue patients will decrease. In order to control dengue, not only during the monsoon season, the work of mosquito extermination in Dhaka City Corporation and various municipalities must be done throughout the year."

Responding to a question from reporters about the ambulance owners' strike, he said, "I don't know why they called the strike, so I can't say anything better. There is a problem in the country, dengue situation is increasing. Now is not the time to go on strike. People's services, life saving and medical services are needed now. We called it off and went on strike. I can't take it properly. Still, what is their problem, let's try and focus on solving that problem."

Addressing the newly admitted MBBS students, the health minister said, "I sincerely congratulate those who have taken admission in the new MBBS here. I took the admission test at Dhaka Medical, but I could not get admission here. Those who will graduate from here as doctors must maintain the reputation of Dhaka Medical. The only way to maintain this reputation is to get a good education from here and pass from here."