Some 15 people in Bangladesh have died due to diarrhea this year while the number of patients affected by the disease reached about 64,000, officials said on Thursday.

In-charge of the government's diarrhea control room under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Nurul Islam told Xinhua on Thursday, "Seven people died in the past one week of this month."

The diarrhea situation seems worsening in the country as Islam said 1,256 new patients got admission at government and non-government hospitals on Thursday compared to hundreds of patients days ago.

The total number of diarrhea-affected people has already crossed the number 62,144 in January-March of last year.

Shahadat Hossain, head of long-stay clinical unit in the country's biggest diarrhea hospital, the International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease and Research Bangladesh (ICDDR,B), in capital Dhaka said there is still rush of patients to the hospital.

Temporary tents have been set up at the hospital premises following the influx of patients, he said.

Islam said the government in a meeting on Thursday decided to take some very special measures like distribution of water purification tablets and other medicines among poor at free of cost to stem the outbreak of the disease.

Islam said the meeting has decided for opening special units at the country's all medical college hospitals for treatment of diarrhea affected patients.

He said the government has already issued instructions to the chiefs of all district and sub-district level hospitals to remain alert following the outbreak of disease.

Doctors said scarcity of safe water and quick decaying of prepared food due to rise in temperature are among other reasons behind the rise in diarrhea outbreak.

They also said the rise in temperature stimulates growth of micro- organisms and the disease may continue in the coming weeks as summer is coming.

According to government statistics, 393 people died of diarrhea out of over 2.2 million people affected last year.

Source: Xinhua