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To strengthen clinical diagnostic capabilities amid escalating hospital admissions, the United States formally handed over a consignment of 500,000 dengue NS1 rapid diagnostic test kits to Bangladesh on Thursday (October 1). The diagnostic kits were supplied through the US government-funded STRIDES programme to assist early detection across public healthcare facilities. US Chargé d’Affaires in Bangladesh Trishita Maula formally presented the consignment to Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain during a handover ceremony at Kurmitola Multicare Specialised Hospital in Dhaka.
Following the formal receipt of the supplies, Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain ordered the immediate nationwide dispatch of the test kits from the Central Medical Stores Depot to upazila health complexes and district general hospitals based on local caseloads. Health officials noted that accurate early detection using NS1 antigen kits enables clinical teams to initiate fluid management protocols quickly, reducing patient progression into dengue shock syndrome. The consignment will help address regional diagnostic kit shortages reported in peripheral health complexes.
Public health researchers and epidemiologists welcomed the diagnostic aid, noting that public hospitals have struggled with high patient volume over recent weeks. Medical experts emphasized that early diagnosis within the first 72 hours of fever allows physicians to distinguish dengue cases from seasonal influenza and avoid unnecessary antibiotic administration. Health administrators called for strict monitoring at district depots to ensure the diagnostic kits are made available to patients free of cost.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare confirmed that clinical treatment guidelines have been distributed to primary care centres across municipal wards and union parishads. Additional Secretary of the Health Services Division Md Rafiqul Islam and senior officials of the Directorate General of Health Services attended the ceremony, pledging fair geographic allocation of the kits. Local vector control teams were urged to intensify larvicide spraying alongside clinical testing measures.
Speaking during the handover ceremony in Dhaka on Thursday, Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain expressed appreciation for international healthcare cooperation. Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain said, "This diagnostic support from the United States arrives at a crucial moment; these kits will be dispatched immediately to district and upazila hospitals so that low-income patients can receive free testing without financial burden". Distribution schedules will begin operating early on Friday.
https://thedailyexpress.news/news/health/1f1bdb7a-264b-65d0-a1ea-a8e98cd7af82