Dengue fear grips DU students

After the death of a fellow student due to dengue, fear of being diagnosed with the fever has gripped the students of Dhaka University.
The fear is so high that at least 566 students have visited Dhaka University Medical Center outdoor service, mostly to check dengue, till 5:00pm Sunday, said the medical centre authorities.

Usually, around 100-150 students come to the centre a day, the record shows.

The number of patients was 81 on 7 July, 116 on 8 July, 103 on 9 July. The number started to shoot up since Thursday.

Avijit Roy, medical officer of the facility, said that most of the students are coming to the centre just to make sure that they do not have dengue.

“A few of them may be suffering from dengue, but the increase in number of patients clearly shows that fear has spread among the students,” he added.
DU medical centre does not have the facility to test dengue currently but it is likely to install the facility within next Thursday, said chief medical officer Sarwar Jahan Muktafi.

The centre has installed a platelet cell counter on Sunday but the machine hung on the very first day due to increasing pressure, said students who were present at the medical centre.

Amid the fear, there has been an ambiguity as to how many students have been caught with the fever.
According to information provided by the students in a closed Facebook group of DU students, around 200 students have so far been diagnosed with dengue in different residential halls.
Chief medical officer Sarwar, however, said that currently nine students are admitted to the centre and six more were confirmed to have dengue.
Md Mofizur Rahman, provost of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman hall, however, said that some information shared on Facebook may not be authentic as fear has been spread among the students.

“I saw a Facebook post where it was said that nine students of Bangabandhu hall’s room No. 113 was diagnosed with dengue. As the hall provost I reacted immediately only to find out that no one of that room was diagnosed actually,” he said.

Mofizur Rahman said that hall authorities have taken all the necessary steps and asked the students to provide information to the authorities immediately if anyone gets diagnosed with dengue.

Firoz Kabir Swadhin, a resident at room No. 414 of the hall, died of dengue at a city hospital on Friday.

Mohammad Ramu Babu, a second year student of philosophy department and a resident of Bangabandhu hall’s room No. 117, came to provost’s room in the afternoon after he was diagnosed with dengue Sunday.
Now he wants to go to his home in Gaibandha district and said that the hall provost assured him of all necessary assistance.
As the fear of outbreak spreads among the students, many of them urged the authorities to shut the university.

On Saturday, DUCSU vice president Nurul Haque Nur created an opinion poll on a closed Facebook group of current and former DU students about their opinion on the matter.

As of 7:00pm Sunday, 7317 voted for university closure while 188 opted for continuation of classes.

DU vice chancellor Md Akhtaruzzaman maintained that closure of the university is not a solution and urged the students not to panic.

He also said all the hall provosts have been instructed at a meeting today to beef up the cleanliness drive in their respective halls.
“We have decided to declare first week of every month as ‘Clean Campus Week’. Hall authorities along with students and hall union leaders will conduct cleaning drives in the week,” the DU VC said.

“I request students not to panic and maintain their composure. Together we will fight the fear of dengue,” the DU VC added.