Authorities in Bangladesh are reporting the country’s most severe outbreak of dengue, with almost 1,000 having died of the disease.

According to BBC News, breeding for mosquitoes that carry the virus has been aided by wet monsoon conditions.

It reports that hospitals have been overwhelmed as officials struggled to contain the spread of the disease.

Public health officials say the current wave of infections caught the country off guard, as it is caused by a stronger strain of the virus.

Officials also say up to 20 people have died of dengue every day over the past two months and the death toll this year has exceeded the total in the last 22 years.