A medical career on the rise, a marriage just begun: Dengue claims Dr Anchal's life at 30

Dr Anchal Roy was at a hopeful point in her medical career. At just 30, she had recently passed the FCPS mid-term examination in internal medicine, marking an important step towards her professional ambitions.

An assistant registrar at Mugda Medical College Hospital in Dhaka, Anchal had also cleared Part One of the MRCP (UK) examination. Her achievements had filled her family and friends with pride as she continued to build her career in medicine.

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But the future she had been working towards was cut short by dengue. Anchal died at Square Hospital in Dhaka this morning after contracting the virus, bringing her promising medical career to an abrupt end.

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Her death also came at a time when she was still in the early days of married life. She had been married for just 17 months.

Anchal had been receiving treatment at home for four days before her condition suddenly deteriorated. On the fifth day, a sharp drop in her platelet count prompted her family to take her to Square Hospital in Dhaka, her husband, Biplob Chandra Das, told The Daily Star.

She was initially admitted to the hospital’s high dependency unit but was later transferred to the intensive care unit as her condition worsened.

“She died at 8:20am today,” Biplob said.

Anchal’s death comes amid a sharp rise in dengue infections across Bangladesh, with September emerging as the deadliest month of this year’s outbreak.

As of 8:00am today, dengue had claimed 225 lives nationwide, including 128 in September alone, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

Although Anchal’s main posting was in the neurology department of Mugda Medical College Hospital, she had recently been attached to the respiratory medicine department, her husband said.

She also occasionally treated dengue patients as part of her medical duties.

“She had passed the FCPS mid-term and also Part One of the MRCP. I was very proud of her,” said Biplob, who works at the National Institute of Population Research and Training (NIPORT).

Beyond their professional lives, Anchal and Biplob shared a bond that went back to their medical college days. Both had studied at Abdul Malek Ukil Medical College, now known as Noakhali Medical College.

Although they had known each other as students, their relationship began only after graduation. After three years together, they decided to marry, beginning a new chapter in their relationship.

“After three years of relationship, we got married one year and a few months ago,” Biplob said, adding, “We were yet to have any child.”

Anchal's ancestral home was in Brahmanbaria, although she had grown up in Dhaka. Biplob's family is from Barishal. She joined the government service through the 42nd BCS.