Dhaka, Aug. 19 -- A group of entomologists have pinned the blame on local government authorities in Bangladesh for their shortsightedness and failure to contain the outbreak of dengue virus, the worst since record-keeping began in the 1960s.

During a seminar in Dhaka on Saturday, an entomologist said he believes this year's dengue outbreak, which has claimed 453 lives as of Friday, should have been declared a health emergency.

One of the speakers in the seminar, Dr Manjur A Chowdhury, former president of the Zoological Society of Bangladesh, blasted city corporations in Dhaka as he highlighted the errors made by the local government authorities in containing the outbreak.

"The fogging method city corporations used to kill an adult mosq...