By Hafizur Rahman
Cox’s Bazar, August 10, 2025
A fast-spreading fever is moving through the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, worrying residents and raising fears of a bigger health crisis. The outbreak comes as Bangladesh is facing a sharp rise in chikungunya cases, a mosquito-borne disease that has also caused record outbreaks in several countries, including China.
In the last two weeks, many refugees from different camps have developed high fevers, bad headaches, strong joint and leg pain, skin rashes, chills, and extreme tiredness. Many people say the pain feels like having broken bones, making them unable to stand or move for days.
“We are just given paracetamol and tested for dengue. The tests come back negative, but the fever doesn’t go away,” said Noor Begum, a resident of Camp-4 Extension. Some people feel a bit better after taking antibiotics from private pharmacies, but most refugees cannot afford these medicines.
Health facilities in the camps are badly lacking, there are no proper testing kits, inadequate treatment, and not enough medicines. People say they are overwhelmed, while families are especially worried about children and older people, who are more likely to become seriously ill.
“I have been suffering from this disease for the last seven days, experiencing symptoms such as headache, joint pain, loss of appetite, and rash. I went to see a doctor, but was only advised to take paracetamol on time. A few days later, I had to get additional medicine and antibiotics from a pharmacy,” said 45-year-old Abdu Rohim.
Chikungunya on the Rise Nationwide
Health experts say the illness in the camps might be linked to the bigger chikungunya outbreak across Bangladesh. Hospitals in Dhaka and other big cities have reported many patients with typical chikungunya symptoms: high fever, rash, and joint pain.
The spread of the disease is being made worse by several factors, including hotter and wetter weather due to climate change, poor drainage, stagnant water, and unplanned urban growth. The Aedes mosquito, which spreads both chikungunya and dengue, is now active all year instead of only during the rainy season. Experts warn that old mosquito control methods, poor cooperation between government offices, and a lack of public awareness have allowed the disease to spread more quickly.
A Global Health Concern
The situation in Bangladesh is part of a bigger global problem. Since the start of 2025, chikungunya has infected more than 240,000 people and caused 90 deaths in 16 countries, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
China is now facing its biggest outbreak since the virus was first found there in 2008, with 7,000 cases in the city of Foshan. Authorities there are using drones to find mosquito breeding sites, releasing “elephant mosquitoes” whose larvae eat the smaller Aedes mosquitoes, and fining people for not removing standing water from their homes.
Large outbreaks have also been reported in La Reunion, Mayotte, Madagascar, Somalia, Kenya, India, and Brazil. The World Health Organization (WHO) says climate change is making it easier for disease-carrying mosquitoes to live in more places and breed for longer periods each year.
Urgent Calls for Action in the Camps
In the Rohingya camps, community leaders are calling on the Bangladesh government, UN agencies, and international health groups to quickly investigate the outbreak, provide testing kits, and deliver the right medicines.
“This is not a normal fever. It spreads fast within families. Many people are bedridden, unable to eat or work,” said a health volunteer.
Experts say the best way to fight the disease is prevention, removing standing water, using mosquito nets, wearing long clothes, and using mosquito repellent. But in the crowded and poor conditions of the refugee camps, these measures are hard to keep up.
Without quick action, residents fear that the mysterious fever, possibly linked to chikungunya, could grow into a major public health crisis, putting thousands of lives at risk in one of the most crowded refugee settlements in the world.
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