What is it about?
Our study reveals how dengue in Bangladesh shifted from seasonal outbreaks into a permanent, year-round health crisis. By analyzing data from 2008 to 2025, we identified the specific moments when transmission patterns changed. These findings help health officials move beyond reactive measures and develop better long-term strategies to protect the public from this constant threat.
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Why is it important?
What makes this study unique and timely is its discovery that dengue in Bangladesh has fundamentally changed; it is no longer just a seasonal threat but has entered a permanent, "hyperendemic" state. By analyzing data through 2025, the research identifies specific "structural breaks", most notably in 2023, where the virus shifted into a higher-intensity transmission cycle that does not return to zero. This is a critical breakthrough because it proves that traditional, seasonal emergency responses are now obsolete. The study provides the evidence needed for a major shift in public health strategy, moving from reactive firefighting during the monsoons to a year-round, sustained prevention and hospital management system that is essential for saving lives in this new epidemiological reality.
Perspectives
My commitment to this research is deeply personal. For years, I served on the front lines at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, managing the highest volume of dengue patients in the country and witnessing the immense pressure on our healthcare system. However, my perspective changed forever when I contracted a severe case of dengue myself while writing this very article. Nearly losing my life to the virus I was studying was a harrowing reminder that our seasonal strategies must evolve. This experience transformed my work from a scientific inquiry into a mission to show that dengue is no longer just a periodic threat. We must now transition toward a permanent, year-round system of prevention and care to protect both our citizens and the healthcare workers who serve them.
Dr. Pratyay Hasan
Dhaka Dental College and Hospital
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The emergence of hyperendemic dengue in Bangladesh: An ecological study of structural breaks and transmission regime shifts, 2008–2025, PLOS One, February 2026, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0343246.
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