At least 16 more patients, including a pregnant woman, suffering from an undiagnosed disease at Tripura Para of Sitakunda in Chittagong were hospitalised on Saturday, taking the number of patients with the similar symptoms to 85.
They have been suffering from fever coupled with breathing problems, vomiting, rash, diarrhoea and blood in stool.
The undiagnosed disease caused deaths of nine children in the area in four days till July 12.
Sitakunda upazila health officer Nurul Karim Rashed told New Age that the members of their medical team had found 16 more patients on the day while continuing search in the area for affected people.
The new patients were sent to Bangladesh Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases at Faujdarhat under Sitakunda upazila.
The institute’s assistant professor (tropical medicine) Md Mamunur Rashid told New Age that among the 16 patients they received was an 18-year-old pregnant woman who had been suffering from fever and rash on skin. All the other patients were under 12.
‘We sent the woman to Chittagong Medical College Hospital as she needed gynaecology treatment as well. We have no gynaecology department here,’ said Mamunur.
He said that they had moved 20 patients to CMCH on Saturday as they lacked several healthcare services at the BITID.
Chittagong civil surgeon Azizur Rahman Siddiqui claimed that conditions of the admitted patients were improving. He added that they could not identify the disease till Saturday afternoon.
According to physicians, 46 people were hospitalised on Wednesday, 10 on Thursday, 13 on Friday and 16 on Saturday. Of them, 35 were undergoing treatment at BITID and 50 at CMCH.
