Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen said today that dengue tests will be more accessible to people once marketing of the locally developed testing kit starts in the country.

"Producing dengue testing kit locally is a good initiative. It will make dengue tests available for the people. I would request the Directorate General of Health Services to assist in giving approval to the locally made dengue testing kit," Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen said at a discussion in the capital.

The Bangladesh Reference Institute for Chemical Measurements (BRiCM) recently developed the dengue rapid antigen kit.

He also said if the local dengue test kit is available in the market, the need to import kits from foreign countries will decline. Everyone's cooperation is needed to combat dengue, he added.

"The Ministry of Health cannot do it alone ... cooperation is also needed among the local government ministry, mayors, councillors, and journalists."