KATHMANDU, Aug 18: Three people have died of dengue in Gandaki Province within three weeks. Among the deceased, two were the residents of Tanahun and one was of Kaski. The provincial Ministry of Social Development and Health said that dengue infection has increased rapidly in various districts of Gandaki. Dengue is transmitted by the bite of the Aedes mosquito. In the last year, dengue claimed the lives of seven people in the province- five in Tanahun and two in Syangja.
According to Dr Ramesh Kumar KC, Health Administrator of the Ministry of Social Development and Health of the province, one woman and two men have died of dengue. A 48-year-old man from Byas Municipality in Tanahun died of dengue infection on July 25. A 41-year-old man from Kaski died on August 15 while a woman from Tanahun died on Friday.
KC said, “Three people have died from dengue in Gandaki in as many weeks. The infection has also risen significantly. Tanahun and Kaski districts are currently experiencing a rapid increase in cases." According to the Ministry, the total number of dengue cases in the province this year has reached 2,157. Among these, the highest number of cases is in Tanahun with 956, Kaski with 752 and Parbat with 128.
Similarly, 78 people have been infected with dengue in Gorkha, 69 in Baglung, 56 in Lamjung, 48 in Syangja, 43 in Myagdi, 25 in Nawalpur and two in Manang. He said, "Tanahun and Kaski have now been affected by the infection. The infection has spread to 10 districts except the Himalayan district of Mustang.”
Dealing with dengue
This year, dengue infection has spread to five local bodies in Tanahun district. Among them, the highest number of cases is in Anbu Khaireni Rural Municipality. According to the Health Office of Tanahun, over 600 people have been detected with dengue infection. The office said that the total number of infected individuals in the five rural municipalities of the district has now reached 956.
According to Prem Bahadur Gurung, spokesperson for Anbu Khaireni Rural Municipality, the number of infected people in the rural municipality is rapidly increasing. Gurung said that following the increase in dengue cases, the rural municipality has started to provide free treatment to patients. Free treatment is being provided in the village hospital so that the patients should not be deprived of treatment due to lack of finances. He said, “We have decided to offer financial support to patients with poor financial condition even if they need to be taken to other hospitals for further treatment. We have started free treatment to make the treatment easier for the helpless and weak patients.”
According to him, after the increase in the number of patients, the Anbu Khaireni Hospital with 15 beds has been providing treatment to the patients on empty space due to the lack of enough beds. He said "We are treating patients by placing beds in empty spaces in the hospital. Even now, about 50 people are being treated in the hospital. We are forced to treat them even by keeping them on the veranda. The patients have been increasing day by day and around 50 people are infected every day.”
Out of the 11 districts of Gandaki Province, dengue infection has spread in all districts except Mustang. Among them, the infection has spread the most in Tanahun and Kaski. Last year, among the 11 districts of Gandaki Province, the highest numbers of 6,930 people were infected with dengue in Tanahun while 2,875 people were infected in Kaski.
According to the Gandaki Province Health Directorate, dengue infection was detected in 2,650 people in Gandaki Province in 2019. That infection was confirmed in 159 people in 2020, in 95 in 2021 and in 2,380 people in 2022. According to the provincial government, a total of 11,986 people were infected with dengue in the province in 2023.
According to doctors, dengue is transmitted to humans by the bite of a female Aedes aegypti mosquito. This mosquito only bites during the day. A temperature of 20 to 30 degrees centigrade is considered suitable for the propagation of this mosquito. Health experts said that mosquitoes can breed in places where water accumulates, such as flower beds, pots, air conditioners, refrigerators, roofs, and terraces. These mosquitoes can lay eggs, and their eggs can survive for up to a year, so the risk of mosquito-borne diseases remains constant.
Dengue started appearing in Pokhara from 2016-17. In the first three years, only one dengue patient was found in Pokhara. However, 571 people were diagnosed with dengue in the fourth year. Following the year, dengue cases have reached almost 2,000. The mosquito breeds only in clean and stagnant water. Especially, it lays eggs in containers where rainwater collects, such as in old tires, tin cans, empty drums, flower pots, and water tanks. Therefore, doctors said that the risk of dengue fever increases during the rainy season when water accumulates in such containers.
According to doctors, despite dengue being an infection, it causes high fever, joint pain, and bone pain. Similarly, there is a possibility of pain around the eyeballs, nausea, vomiting and reluctance to eat. Likewise, spots of blood appear on the skin and there may be bleeding from the nose, gums, and other parts of the body.
