Kathmandu, October 3

Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Bidhya Sundar Shakya has been infected with dengue, a mosquito-borne viral infection. Shakya is currently receiving treatment at Blue Cross Hospital in the capital.

Mayor Shakya was admitted to Tripureshwor-based hospital after suffering from fever on this morning, said Prajwal Man Shrestha, medical director and senior consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the hospital.

“He had visited the hospital for a health check-up as he was suffering from fever. Suspecting the symptoms of dengue, tests were done. His blood test confirmed dengue,” said a hospital source. Mayor Shakya is also under observation of orthopaedic surgeon at the hospital as he complained of frozen muscle in his left shoulder.

Frozen shoulder is a condition characterised by stiffness and pain in shoulder joint. “We will start treatment of his joint after he recovers from dengue,” said Shrestha.

Earlier, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Chakrapani Khanal, senior Ophthalmologist, Sanduk Ruit, senior leader of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Bamdev Gautam were infected with dengue.

There has been an unprecedented rise in dengue cases of late. Dengue cases have been reported in 67 districts across the country. According to the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division,  10,993 patients tested positive for dengue from July 17 to September 30 and six of them have died.

As many as 1,519 people have been suffering from dengue in Kathmandu, 398 in Lalitpur, 342 in Bhaktapur, 2,183 in Kaski while 2,416 dengue cases have been reported in Chitwan.