Doctors in the district fear a jaundice epidemic if precaution and protection is not adopted against this viral outbreak.

Although it is estimated that the disease has claimed the lives of four people and infected around 300 in the district, pathology tests carried out on suspected jaundice cases at government and private hospitals here by the DPHO confirmed Hepatitis E in 100 patients.  

The DPHO has warned the people against drinking contaminated water, stale and spoilt food.

The Biratnagar Sub Metropolitan City has already issued a notice urging the public to take precautionary measures against jaundice in the wake of the rising cases of the disease reported by the health institutions.

The Koshi Zonal Hospital (KZH) said that it is receiving around 60 jaundice patients on a daily basis. Dr Dipak Sigdel said that the number of people suffering from the disease has increased in the past one week. “There are at lease 36 jaundice patients in the hospital’s out-patient department,” he said, adding that the situation could get worse if precautionary measures are not adopted at the earliest.

Dr Sigdel said that consumption of polluted water and contaminated food causes the disease and its symptoms include yellowing of the whites of the eyes and skin and loss of appetite. “One can be safe from the disease if they consume purified water and avoid contaminated food,” he said. “The disease can be cured if treated in time.”