5-yr-old Monira loses battle to dengue

In a heartbreaking turn of events, five-year-old Sirajum Monira lost her fight for life to dengue on Thursday morning (September 17) while undergoing treatment at Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH).

Monira, the daughter of Nurunnabi from the Amirabad area of Sitakunda Municipality, had been suffering from a high fever and severe physical complications for several days. As her health precipitously declined, her family rushed her to the Medicare Diagnostic Center in Sitakunda Municipality on Tuesday (September 15). A subsequent NS1 test confirmed she was suffering from dengue.

Realizing the gravity of her condition, attending doctors immediately administered oxygen support and advised her family to transfer her to CMCH without delay. Md. Selim Uddin, proprietor of the diagnostic center, noted that the child was brought in at a critically late stage, emphasizing that keeping a patient in such condition at home proved fatal.

Monira was admitted to CMCH, but as her organs began to fail, she was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on Wednesday. Despite the medical team's desperate efforts to stabilize her, the young child breathed her last early Thursday morning, leaving her family shattered by grief.

Local health authorities reported a concerning spike in dengue cases, with 24 patients admitted to the Sitakunda Upazila Health Complex over the past week alone. Officials stated that 10 dedicated beds have been prepared and adequate government medical supplies remain stocked to tackle the growing outbreak.

-MT