Dengue cases are rising in Karnali Province despite the onset of colder weather, with health workers warning that poor sanitation is driving the spread.

According to the Provincial Health Service Directorate in Surkhet, 1,424 people have tested positive for dengue from mid-July to mid-October of the current fiscal year, a figure higher than the same period last year. Surkhet alone accounts for 1,298 cases, with most infections detected between July and October.

Vector control officer Shyamlal Acharya said Rukum West has recorded 78 cases and Dailekh 26. Salyan has nine, Kalikot six, Dolpa and Jajarkot three each, and Mugu one. No cases have been reported in Humla and Jumla. One person has died of dengue in Surkhet during this period.

Acharya said the outbreak is worsening because households and institutions continue to ignore basic precautions. He said stagnant clean water allows mosquitoes to breed, yet many residents leave water collected on rooftops and courtyards unattended. He added that preventing water from collecting and destroying breeding sites is essential.

Local governments have been given authority to conduct search-and-destroy campaigns, but Acharya warned that the situation could become serious if negligence continues. Wearing full-sleeve clothing, using bed nets and keeping surroundings clean remain the main preventive measures. Hospitals in Surkhet are currently crowded with dengue patients.

Paediatrician Dr Nawaraj KC said it is worrying that cases have not declined even after winter conditions set in. He urged residents to clear stagnant water and manage plastic waste around their homes. He said private hospitals and clinics are also seeing patients daily, noting that weather patterns and carelessness have allowed infections to keep spreading.