Dengue has spread to eight hill districts in Province 1, according to the data of the Health Directorate in Dhankuta. The count of dengue patients in the hill districts reached 167 last week, while 4,247 people have been diagnosed with the disease in the entire province since its outbreak some two months ago.

Chandra Dev Mehata, the director at the health directorate, said 79 dengue patients were reported in Udayapur, 60 in Panchthar, 13 in Tehrathum, five in Sankhuwasabha, four in Dhankuta, three in Bhojpur, two in Ilam and one in Khotang districts.

“There are fewer dengue cases in the hills as compared to the Tarai. We hope to contain the disease in the hill districts soon,” said Mehata.

Meanwhile, health workers say adopting control mechanisms to curb dengue spread in the hill districts could be challenging.

“There is still a lack of awareness on dengue in the districts, and the local health posts are not well-equipped to deal with the disease. Recent rainfall in has also raised concerns about the spread of the disease,” said Abhitabh Thakur, the medical superintendent at the District Hospital in Dhankuta. “We had to refer two dengue patients to BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences in Dharan on Monday.”

According to Mehata, there are 3,455 dengue patients in Sunsari, 460 in Jhapa and 153 in Morang.

Dengue, a mosquito-borne disease, has been found in 64 districts of the country, including Chitwan and Kaski.

According to the health authority, dengue-carrying mosquitoes breed in clean water and are active during the day. Uncovered water tanks and discarded plastic cups and bottles are also a breeding ground for the mosquitoes.

The Health Directorate has launched various awareness campaigns in the dengue-affected areas to destroy the mosquito breeding grounds.
Krishna Bahadur Ghimire, chief district officer of Dhankuta, said the local administration has also been conducting awareness campaigns to contain the disease.

“Various organisations are conducting door-to-door campaigns to sensitise the people about dengue and destroy mosquito breeding grounds,” said Ghimire.