The dengue menace shows no sign of going away as the deadly virus has now spread to almost all districts.

Doctors warn that no one in Nepal is safe from the risk of infection, as the mosquito spreading the virus is present all over the country.

What concerns them even more is that authorities have stopped preventive measures, including search and destroy drives, which are the only effective measures for cutting down the infection rate.

The public’s fear of infection also appears to have diminished.

“What can the public do when authorities take such risks lightly,” said Dr Baburam Marasini, a public health expert. “Any one of us could get infected by the virus at any time, and it does not make any difference to the government.”

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, five people have died, and over 8,000 tested positive for the dengue virus, which has spread to 75 districts across the country. 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.

Even symptomatic patients do not seek treatment unless they get severe. Many people infected with dengue show mild symptoms, which do not need any treatment or can be treated with paracetamol at home.

Public health experts warn that dengue cases could escalate in the coming days as the peak season of the virus spread has just started.

Experts emphasise the need for a massive awareness campaign for destroying the breeding ground of the dengue-spreading vector— and that the public must be made aware of the treatment.

“Health authorities are not even implementing basic measures like launching an effective awareness drive to destroy the breeding sites of these vectors,” said Marasini. “The adult population is getting infected at workplaces, and children are being exposed at schools.”

Experts say that the ongoing spread of dengue could have been prevented had the authorities taken the problem seriously and initiated a search-and-destroy drive. They say the disease will continue to spread unless lessons from previous outbreaks are effectively implemented.

“Just counting the number of infected people will achieve nothing. Neither can we stop the spread of the virus nor determine the true extent of the outbreak,” said Dr Sher Bahadur Pun, chief of the Clinical Research Unit at Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital. “Only those who suffer from severe dengue know how bad it is.”

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 symptoms of dengue. Doctors advise that those with these symptoms 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.

Last year, at least 20 persons died and more than 52,000 were infected by the virus, which had spread to all 77 districts.

In 2022, a total of 88 people died, and over 54,000 were infected by the virus across the country. In that period, hospitals in the Kathmandu Valley were overwhelmed with dengue patients, and pharmacies ran out of paracetamol, the most widely used medicine to treat fever.

In 2019, the disease killed at least six people and more than 16,000 were hospitalised across the country. The virus had spread to 68 districts at the time.

Though the post-monsoon period is considered the dengue epidemic season, the deadly disease has become endemic in Nepal, as outbreaks are reported every month, including in the winter months.