Nepal Reels from Dengue as 2,559 Cases Reported in a Week

The monsoon rains has brought in a lot of worries in the form of mosquito-borne diseases, including dengue, chikungunya, malaria, and zika fever. While a number of Asian countries have already been under the radar of many international organisations, given the constant rise in the number of infected cases, dengue seems to be spreading to a number of other nations.

Also known as backbone fever, dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. It is spread by several species of female mosquitoes of the Aedes type, principally A. aegypti. The symptoms typically begin three to fourteen days after infection, which may include high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash.

Recently, India’s neighbouring country, Nepal is witnessing a constant rise in the number of dengue cases. In past few days, at least three people have been killed as a result of dengue in various parts of Nepal. In fact, those affected by the vector-borne disease has also been doubled to 2,559 within a week.

The Epidemiology and Disease Control Division (EDCD), which comes under the Department of Health, has provided the number of infected with dengue. As per it, there were 1,537 till last Wednesday of August; however it has doubled nearly by twofold with the number standing at 2,559 on Wednesday, September 4.

The rising cases have caused tension and fear in the Nepali capital of Kathmandu. Nani Maya Shrestha, one of the residents of Lagan told ANI, “The infection is on the rise, this should (spraying of disinfectant) have been done earlier, steps are being taken only after a large number of people are infected. If they had done all this in the beginning, infection cases might not have increased. It's been too late to contain it, otherwise, the number might not have slumped up.”

As per the EDCD, so far, Makwanpur has recorded the highest number of dengue infected cases, with at least 546 people infected to disease. Following Makwanpur is Kaski, which has recorded a number of 517 cases, with Chitwan having 434 confirmed cases of dengue till September 4.

After the number of dengue cases saw no respite, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City has started spraying disinfectant with the help of Korean Organisation.