Bangladesh has been experiencing its worst-ever outbreak of dengue fever, with the death toll from the infectious disease topping 900.

Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne illness that causes high fever and severe headaches, as well as pain in the joints and muscles.

The latest statistics released by the World Health Organization on September 24 put the total number of deaths in Bangladesh at a record 909. WHO officials say the disease is rampant across the country.

The South Asian country's health authorities noted the outbreak started around May, which was earlier than usual.

They said more than 133,000 people had been infected as of September 4. That's a roughly 20-fold increase from the same period last year.

Footage in the capital, Dhaka, shows many children being treated at a hospital with their mothers at their bedsides.

WHO experts warned that climate change is contributing to the spread of dengue and other diseases caused by mosquito-borne viruses.

They described such infectious diseases as a "canary in the coal mine of the climate crisis."