The Ministry of Health and Population on Tuesday confirmed a cholera outbreak in Thaiba of Godawari Municipality of Lalitpur district.

A patient with severe diarrhoea tested positive for cholera, officials said.

“A lab report confirmed cholera in a diarrhoea patient,” said Dr Prakash Budhathoky, spokesperson of the Health Ministry. “Stool samples of other diarrheal patients have also been collected for testing.”

Cholera is a highly infectious disease that causes severe diarrhoea and vomiting, which in turn results in dehydration and can lead to death within a few hours if left untreated. The World Health Organisation says cholera is a global threat to public health and an indicator of inequality and a lack of social development.

Health officials said that the Vibrio cholera 01 Ogawa serotype has been confirmed in the stool sample of an infected patient.

Officials at the Health Office, Lalitpur told the Post that several people have been infected in a suspected cholera outbreak in the “Drug-Free Society”, a Thaiba-based drug rehab centre. Rapid diagnostic tests confirmed that at least four residents have cholera.

“Out of six samples tested, four came positive for cholera,” an official at the municipality told the Post on condition of anonymity. “One patient, in serious condition with severe diarrhoea, has been admitted to the intensive care unit at Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital.”

All four infected people were referred to Sukraraj hospital on Monday by the local health authority. But three of them fled the hospital on Monday night, according to Health Ministry officials.

“Three patients, who tested positive in rapid diagnostic tests, escaped through the window of the hospital’s toilet on Monday night,” said spokesperson Budhathoky. “Another patient, whose condition is serious, is being treated in intensive care at the hospital. The patient, who tested positive for cholera, has been admitted to a cabin in the hospital.”

Officials said that patients might have fled the hospital to avoid returning to the rehab.

Following news of the suspected cholera outbreak, the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division, the agency responsible for responding to the disease outbreaks, mobilised a team of health workers to the rehab.

“Samples of water and stools have been collected from the rehab centre,” said Dr Hemanta Chandra Ojha, an official at the division.

The Kathmandu Valley often witnesses cholera outbreaks during the monsoon season, with hundreds of people suffering from diarrheal infections that continue for months.

In May, a 62-year-old man from Makawanpur district, who had been hospitalised with severe diarrhoea, tested positive for the deadly disease. The man is said to have been living in Kathmandu for a long time.

In 2022, a total of 77 cases of cholera were confirmed in the Valley. Last year, health authorities administered an oral cholera vaccine in wards 11, 12, and 13 of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, which were highly affected by the outbreak.

Experts say that a cholera outbreak in the Valley during the monsoon is particularly concerning. Rainwater contaminates most water sources, increasing the risk of more people getting infected with water-borne diseases, including cholera.

Due to poor sanitation and hygiene conditions, Nepal is highly vulnerable to water-borne illnesses including diarrhoea, dysentery, typhoid, hepatitis, and cholera, with thousands of people getting infected every year.

Doctors say contaminated water and food are the main drivers of cholera in the Kathmandu Valley. According to the World Health Organisation, a multifaceted approach is key to controlling cholera and reducing deaths.

Doctors have asked authorities to launch awareness drives against water-borne diseases and ensure safe drinking water to prevent deaths from illnesses like cholera.

A combination of careful surveys, ensuring safe drinking water, maintaining sanitation and hygiene, social mobilisation, and treatment is required to contain the spread of the infection, according to doctors.