Dengue outbreak in Sunsari has gone out of hand, but the recent data made public by the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division does not reflect the exact number of patients suffering from dengue.

According to the data presented by the division, only 331 patients were infected with dengue virus in Sunsari from mid-July to Wednesday (since the start of the current fiscal year). But more than 1,400 dengue cases were reported until last week of July in Dharan Sub-metropolitan City alone. On May 12, the first dengue case was reported in Puspalal Marga in Dharan Ward No. 15.

The data released by the division shows the number of dengue patients across 42 districts stand at 1,537 till date (within one and a half months of the running fiscal year). Rambabu Yadav, chief at the health section of the Dharan Sub Metropolis, corroborates the data. “The data the division released is for the period between mid-July to Wednesday (August 28),” he said.

Dr Bijaya Kumar Khanal, the coordinator of rapid response team, which was formed to run a “search and destroy campaign” in mosquito-infested areas in Dharan, said the division’s data show fewer number of dengue patients because it only collected data of the patients who were discharged from the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences after receiving treatment.

“The government has installed Early Warning and Reporting System in various government hospitals of the country. The division only collects the data of the patients who are admitted to government hospitals. It doesn’t collect data from private hospitals and other clinics. That’s why the division’s data show fewer number of dengue cases in Sunsari,” said Khanal.

According to the doctors at the BPKIHS, the division has not included data of dengue patients who reached the outpatient department of the government-run hospitals for treatment. Meanwhile, Dengue Control Committee coordinated by Netra Kafle, ward chairman of Dharan Ward No. 13, has decided to conduct search and destroy drive in all 20 wards of the sub metropolis.