Login

Forget Password?
Login With Facebook
Don't Have An Account? Sign Up

Sign Up

Already Have An Account? Login
Read Our Privacy Policy
Back to Login
  • National
  • Politics
  • Valley
  • Opinion
  • Money
  • Sports
  • Culture & Lifestyle

  • National
    • Madhesh Province
    • Lumbini Province
    • Bagmati Province
    • National Security
    • Koshi Province
    • Gandaki Province
    • Karnali Province
    • Sudurpaschim Province
  • Politics
  • Valley
    • Kathmandu
    • Lalitpur
    • Bhaktapur
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • As it is
    • Letters
    • Editorial
    • Cartoon
  • Money
  • Sports
    • Cricket
    • Football
    • International Sports
  • Culture & Lifestyle
    • Arts
    • Brunch with the Post
    • Movies
    • Life & Style
    • Theater
    • Entertainment
    • Books
    • Fashion
  • Health
  • Food
    • Recipes
  • Travel
  • Investigations
  • Climate & Environment
  • World
  • Science & Technology
  • Interviews
  • Visual Stories
  • Crosswords & Sudoku
  • Horoscope
  • Forex
  • Corrections
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Today's ePaper
Sunday, July 27, 2025

Without Fear or FavourUNWIND IN STYLE

26.44°C Kathmandu
Air Quality in Kathmandu: 37
300+Hazardous
0-50Good
51-100Moderate
101-150Unhealty for Sensitive Groups
151-200Unhealthy
201-300Very Unhealthy
Sun, Jul 27, 2025
26.44°C Kathmandu
Air Quality in Kathmandu: 37
  • What's News :

  • Open-air jet repair
  • Nepal’s para-fighters
  • Court intervention in lawmaking
  • Temporary bridge at Rasuwagadhi
  • Customs offices merge

Health

Apathy to take preventive measures blamed for an exponential rise in dengue cases

Health workers demand testing kits and essential medicines instead of directions. Apathy to take preventive measures blamed for an exponential rise in dengue cases
Dengue patients undergoing treatment in Tanahun.  Photo: Courtesy of Agam Raj Upadhyaya
bookmark
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • Whatsapp
  • mail
Arjun Poudel
Published at : August 20, 2024
Updated at : August 20, 2024 07:27
Kathmandu

The 500 rapid diagnostic test kits supplied by the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division to the Anbukhaireni Rural Municipality of Tanahun two weeks ago were used up within two days.

Along with the test kits, the division also issued directives to launch a search-and-destroy drive, mobilise female community health volunteers, and deploy social workers to destroy the breeding grounds for the disease vectors.

Despite the rural municipality grappling with a massive dengue outbreak, with over 1,000 positive cases in a single ward within a month, the federal government's central disease control body has yet to dispatch an expert team to conduct vector surveillance. Health workers at the local unit said that they expect federal agencies to monitor health facilities overwhelmed with infected patients and ensure that preventive measures have been properly enforced.

“More than the directives, we need test kits, essential medicines and health workers to care for the patients in our hospitals,” Agam Raj Upadhyaya, health coordinator of the rural municipality, told the Post over the phone from Anbukhaireni. “Neither the Ministry of Health and Population of the federal government nor the agencies under the provincial government have taken the issue seriously, even after a massive dengue outbreak hit the entire local unit.”

Health workers in the virus-hit local unit said that over 50 people test positive for the dengue virus daily in Aanbukhaireni Rural Municipality alone. Local health facilities are struggling to cope with the overwhelming number of seriously ailing people. Patients are being treated on benches and even on the floors of health facilities, according to health officials working at the municipality. Some patients go to Chitwan, Pokhara, and even Kathmandu for treatment.

“Due to a human resource crunch, we have pulled health workers from peripheral health posts to help in hospitals overwhelmed with dengue patients,” said Upadhyaya. “Over 45 patients are being treated in a 15-bed hospital. We expect help from provincial and federal government agencies to care for seriously ailing patients.”

Health workers said they are doing their best to contain the spread of the deadly disease, but their measures, including the search-and-destroy drive, have become ineffective. Officials concede that the drive was launched only after the massive outbreak of the virus, and the ongoing rainfall has been hindering the measures taken to destroy the breeding grounds of mosquitoes.”

Officials admit that the actual number of dengue cases could be higher as people with mild symptoms are not getting tested and are resting at home.

What worries health workers the most is that with the spike in positive cases, they also see an increase in seriously ill patients.

Officials admit that the real number of infections could be several times higher, as the government’s case reporting system is not very effective, and more than 80 percent of the cases are asymptomatic.

Public health experts say that the ongoing spread of dengue infection could have been prevented had the authorities concerned taken the problems seriously and launched the search-and-destroy drive.

“How can we expect to prevent the spread of the virus by waiting to take measures until there is a massive outbreak of the disease?” asked Dr Baburam Marasini, a public health expert. “We have created only the agencies to give directions, not the ones to take action. Agencies under the federal government must help local units carry out surveillance, determine the serotype of the virus and provide care to patients.”

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.

So far this year, two died, and 3,755 tested positive for the dengue virus that has spread in 74 districts across the country.

Public health experts warn that dengue cases could escalate in the coming days in other districts as well, as heavy rainfall continues across the country and post-monsoons season, which is considered the main dengue season, is yet to start.

Experts say a massive awareness campaign is instrumental in destroying the breeding ground of the dengue-spreading vector, and the public must be made aware of the treatment.

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.

Nepal reported its first dengue case in a foreigner in 2004 in the Chitwan district. Since then, an increasing number of dengue infections and major outbreaks have been reported from many districts.


Arjun Poudel

Arjun Poudel is a health reporter for The Kathmandu Post. Before joining the Post, he worked for Sagarmatha Television, Naya Patrika, Republica and The Himalayan Times.


Related News

Pesticide-laced mustard greens sold in Kalimati
Nutrition rehab expansion stalled. Children suffer
Health minister cites routine activities as achievements
Nepal reports third Covid death within a month
Karnali short on Depo-Provera for months, supply uncertain
Nepal declared fully immunised, but experts suspect data manipulation

Most Read from Health

Nepal declared fully immunised, but experts suspect data manipulation
Nepal reports third Covid death within a month
Pesticide-laced mustard greens sold in Kalimati
Paropakar Maternity Hospital starts free fistula surgery
Health minister cites routine activities as achievements

Editor's Picks

Kailash pilgrims breathe new life into Nepal’s mountain economy
Pressure groups are dictating lawmaking
Indians paying by QR in Nepal for a year but Nepalis still lack access in India
UML weighs binning age, term limits amid Oli-Bhandari rivalry
Law in the works to check officials’ conflict of interest

E-PAPER | July 27, 2025

  • Read ePaper Online
×
ABOUT US
  • About the Post
  • Masthead
  • Editorial Standards & Integrity
  • Workplace Harassment Policy
  • Privacy Policy
READ US
  • Home Delivery
  • ePaper
CONTACT US
  • Write for the Post
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Advertise in the Post
  • Work for the Post
  • Send us a tip
INTERACT WITH US
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
OUR SISTER PUBLICATIONS
  • eKantipur
  • saptahik
  • Nepal
  • Nari
  • Radio Kantipur
  • Kantipur TV
© 2025 www.kathmandupost.com
  • Privacy Policy
Top