The Aanbukhaireni Rural Municipality in Tanahun has decided to close four schools for an indefinite period starting on Thursday amid a surge in dengue patients in the Aanbukhaireni Bazar area lately.

The Aanbukhaireni Bazar area, which lies in ward 3 of the local unit, has become a hotspot of dengue this year since the first case was reported there on June 13. According to the rural municipality’s health unit, an average of around 35 to 40 patients have been diagnosed with dengue infection daily in the local unit in recent days.

Nirmala Kunwar, chief at the education unit chief of the rural municipality, confirmed to the Post that they have decided to close Marsyangdi Bal Jyoti English School, Ram Shah Secondary School, Nababuddha English School and Bal Siksha Sadan English School in Aanbukhaireni-3 due to the spike of dengue cases in the area. “Of late, the school children are also found infected with the disease,” Kunwar said.

She added that other schools were also instructed to close classes and take necessary precautions to control dengue if the students were found infected with the disease.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral disease transmitted by female Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. The same vector also transmits chikungunya, yellow fever, and Zika, according to the World Health Organisation.

The residents of Aanbukhaireni Rural Municipality’s ward 3 are mostly affected by dengue infection in Tanahun. According to DB Chhetri, chief at Aanbukhaireni Hospital which is operated by the rural municipality, a total of 350 patients who visited the hospital were found infected with dengue as of Tuesday. Among them, 117 people were admitted at the hospital for the treatment.

Some patients from the neighbouring Gorkha and Muglin area of Chitwan district have also visited the hospital for treatment, Chhetri said. “But most of the dengue patients are from Aanbukhaireni and the number is on the rise,” Chhetri said. “The hospital is overwhelmed with the dengue patients lately. Some dengue infected people have not visited the health institution for loboratory test while some others have gone to other places for treatment.”

On Tuesday, a 50-year-old man from Byas Municipality-7 in Tanahun died of dengue infection in the course of treatment in Pokhara-based Gandaki Medical College. The deceased has been reported to be a patient of chronic ailments as well.

According to the District Health Office in Tanahun, a total of 643 dengue cases have been reported in the district since June 15 this year. Pooja Kunwar, public health nurse at the health office, said as many as 481 dengue patients are from Aanbukhaireni Rural Municipality alone. She said that the number of dengue patients is high in Aanbukhaireni as the patients from neighbouring Gorkha and Chitwan also visit Aanbukhaireni for treatment.

As per the record available at the District Public Health Office, 105 dengue cases were reported in Shuklagandaki Municipality, 56 in Byas Municipality, 35 in Bandipur Rural Municipality and two in Bhimad Municipality.

Meanwhile, Aanbukhaireni Rural Municipality has launched an awareness programme to control dengue infection. “Search and destroy drive has been launched to indentify the possible habitat of mosquitoes and destroy them. Discussions are underway to sprinkle disinfectants in the affected area,” said Bishnu Prasad Sharma, chief administrative officer at the rural municipality. According to him, the local unit has managed free-of-cost treatment at Aanbukhaireni Hospital for the dengue-infected students who do not have health insurance.

It is suspected that the dengue cases are rife with the surge of mosquitoes in the roadside drainage in the rainy season. “Efforts are on to clean the roadside drainage and spray disinfectants there,” said Shukra Chuman, chairman of Aanbukhaireni Rural Municipality. “The 15-bed Aanbukhaireni Hospital has been providing treatment by increasing its bed capacity to 40. We will shortly run a 15-bed separate dengue ward.”

The hospital, however, has no alternative to refer seriously ill dengue patients to Chitwan or other cities since the health institution does not have an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) facility. “We will have to urge the provincial and federal governments to manage specialist doctors and required instruments if the dengue cases keep on rising,” Chuman said.

Five people, according to the District Health Office, died of dengue while around 8,000 people were infected with the disease in Tanahun last year.

Dengue-transmitting mosquitoes breed in clean water and bite people in daylight. Uncovered water tanks and discarded objects such as plastic cups and bottles could be breeding grounds for dengue-carrying mosquitoes.

According to doctors, mild to high fever, severe muscle pain, rashes, severe headache and pain in the eyes are some of the symptoms of dengue. Doctors advise that those with these symptoms should seek immediate treatment. While there is no specific cure for the disease, early detection and access to proper medical care can lower fatalities.