On September 2, Ajita Adhikari of Bharatpur Metropolitan City Ward No. 3 was admitted to a private hospital in Bharatpur after suffering from dengue. She got discharged from the hospital after six days.

On Saturday, Ajita reached the Puspanjali Hospital in Bharatpur where she received treatment and got involved in the anti-dengue campaign. Ajita said, “I am going to raise awareness about dengue virus in my community. I am fully prepared to educate people now.”

The hospital has started the awareness campaign on the infectious disease that spreads through the bite of Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes in the metropolis. Within one and a half months, the hospital received 223 patients suffering from dengue.

According to Dr Bhojraj Adhikari, a senior physician at the hospital, the campaign had been launched to control dengue infection. “Patients who have recovered from the disease have been mobilised to raise awareness in their communities,” said Adhikari.

Adhikari said that the mosquitoes lay eggs on old tyres, outdoor units of air conditioners, water tanks, plates used to keep flower vase. “We should not leave stagnant water in and around our houses,” he said.

The hospital has been providing posters, pamphlets and other materials to raise awareness among the dengue patients.

Surendra Jang Shrestha of Gaidakot, another patient who defeated dengue, said the campaign made him aware of the epidemic. “The disease is not so dangerous. Only we should not let mosquitoes to spread from their habitat,” Shrestha said, adding that he is now raising awareness in his settlement to contain the disease.

The Bharatpur Metropolitan City is one of the worst-hit places with the dengue outbreak this season. Mayor Renu Dahal called for all of the stakeholders concerned to unite in the ‘mosquito search and destroy’ campaign.

According to the data of the District Health Office in Chitwan, the number of patients infected with dengue in the district has reached 1,632 in about two months. One person died of dengue in that period. The record showed that the number of patients suffering from dengue has exceeded 1,200 in Bharatpur alone. Ram KC, the vector control inspector at the District Health Office, said that Wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 11 and 12 are greatly affected with dengue in Bharatpur.