Dharan Sub-metropolitan City in Sunsari is in the grip of dengue fever.

As many as four people have died of dengue, a mosquito-borne viral infection, in the Dharan-based BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) in the past one-and-a-half months. According to the institute, around 2,000 people tested positive for dengue virus in the period.

According to data from the BPKIHS, a 79-year-old man from Dharan-11 and an 84-year-old woman from Dharan-18 died of dengue in the course of treatment on July 18. On June 30, a 40-year-old woman from Dharan-11 died of the disease while another 30-year-old woman from Dharan-17 succumbed to the disease on June 6.

“Three of the deceased were found to be suffering from other chronic diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes. Flow of dengue patients has increased in the past few days,” said Dr Chudamani Pokharel, assistant spokesperson for the BPKIHS.

Dengue cases have been rife in several districts of Koshi Province over the past few weeks. Sunsari has been hit hard by the infectious disease transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes.

In view of the increasing number of patients, the BPKIHS has been running a free-of-cost dengue clinic every day since last week. “The clinic has been carrying out free dengue tests and treatment. The Dharan Sub-Metropolis has provided 600 testing kits while the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division provided 1,000 dengue kits to the BPKIHS,” said Pokharel.

According to him, the clinic examined a total of 638 people from July 14 to 20, and 465 of them tested positive for the virus.

The free test has greatly benefited people from impoverished families. Private hospitals and clinics have been charging Rs1,500 to Rs2,000 for a dengue test.

Meanwhile, the health services and day-to-day administration have been affected in the BPKIHS after many doctors, nurses and other employees got infected with dengue. According to the institute, more than 50 doctors, nurses, employees and medical students have fallen ill over the past three days.

There was an outbreak of dengue in Dharan in 2019. According to Umesh Mehata, chief at the sub-metropolis’s health unit, around 11,000 had been infected then.

Monsoon is a season of epidemics when thousands of people across the country catch water-borne and vector-borne diseases. Although the post-monsoon season is considered fertile for dengue transmission, Nepal has witnessed outbreaks of the deadly disease since the start of the year and during the pre-monsoon seasons as well. Experts say the virus has become endemic, as cases are being reported throughout the year.

At least 88 people had died and over 54,000 were infected last year in 77 districts of the country. Hospitals in the Kathmandu valley were overwhelmed with dengue patients, with many complaining that they were deprived of treatment. Pharmacies had also run out of paracetamol at the time.

Dengue is 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.