Key Takeaways:

• Baglung tops Nepal's dengue count with 1,403 cases since mid-July; scrub typhus infections rise to 282 from just 5 last year
• Dhaulagiri Hospital alone has treated 1,224 dengue patients, with 30–50 new cases daily
• Gandaki Province reports 2,311 dengue cases in nine months, while Chitwan and Kavrepalanchok also face rising infections
• Authorities intensify mosquito-breeding site destruction campaigns, warning unchecked spread could trigger larger outbreaks

KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 18 Nepal's monsoon-season surge in mosquito- and mite-borne disease has hit Baglung hardest, where a record dengue caseload is now running alongside a scrub typhus outbreak that has grown more than 56-fold within a year. Provincial health officials said Baglung has logged 1,403 dengue cases since mid-July - the highest tally in Nepal - while scrub typhus, which infected just five people last year, has already infected 282 this year. At Baglung's district headquarters, Dhaulagiri Hospital has treated 1,224 of the confirmed dengue cases, with medical recorder Nabaraj Paudel reporting 30–50 new patients daily. 'Even though we are adopting high alert, the infection rate remains high, and the burden of dengue patients at Dhaulagiri Hospital is high,' said Praveen Sharma, chief of the Provincial Public Health Office. The outbreak has split along an urban-rural line: dengue concentrated in Baglung Bazaar, while scrub typhus spread through villages, with half of this year's 282 cases in Galkot Municipality. Authorities have escalated their response beyond routine campaigns. Ramprasad Khanal, health branch chief of Baglung Municipality, said four tractor tyres were confiscated from a garage that failed to control breeding sites - old tyres collecting rainwater are a common mosquito habitat. Across Gandaki Province, dengue cases have climbed steadily: 415 confirmed in Jestha-Asar, 1,247 by Shrawan, 382 more in Bhadra, and 228 last week alone. Of that week's cases, 170 were in Baglung district and 57 in Baglung Municipality. Elsewhere, Chitwan hospitals confirmed 92 dengue cases and 191 scrub typhus cases this fiscal year, while Kavrepalanchok has already logged 32 dengue cases since mid-July, more than half of last year's total. Health officials are urging vigilance, noting severe warning signs such as persistent vomiting, nosebleeds, black stool and fatigue. The Aedes aegypti mosquito, which spreads dengue, breeds in clean, still water and bites during the day. 'Every individual and family has to be responsible for dengue control and prevention,' Sharma warned. (With inputs from RSS)