Hospitals in Bangladesh have recorded 17 new cases of dengue fever in a day, taking the tally of infections since Jan 1 to 607 after the worst outbreak last year.

The death toll remained unchanged at four as there were no fatalities from the mosquito-borne disease in the daily count published by the Directorate General of Health Services on Friday.

The new cases included 10 in Dhaka.

The capital also accounted for 134 of the 279 dengue patients undergoing treatment at hospitals in the morning.

In 2023, Bangladesh recorded 321,179 hospitalisations and 1,705 deaths from the viral disease and the outbreak has continued this year.

Rising temperatures, along with a lack of effective measures to kill the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the known carrier of the virus, are seen as the reasons behind the deadliest outbreak last year.

Experts say dengue may affect Bangladesh throughout the year from now on, not just in monsoon, if the authorities do not move to prevent the disease.