Chitwan, September 10

A campaign has been launched to control mice infestation in Chitwan after it was found that the rodents are the prime agents spreading scrub typhus since April.

A joint team comprising Department of Health Services, National Public Health Laboratory, Department of Epidemiology and Disease Control, Shukra Raj Tropical Hospital Kathmandu, KIT Centres Hetauda, and District Public Health Office, Chitwan started investigating the houses of the patients who contracted scrub typhus.

According to Public Health KIT Control Supervisor Ram Kumar KC, the team launched the campaign to trap mice in Sharadanagar, Meghauli and Gunjanagar, among other adjoining areas. The probe team comprises as many as 11 persons.

“We have started to set mouse traps from today. After the mice are trapped, we will start conducting research on their heartand liver so as to find out the type of scrub typhus. This is crucial in the treatment of patients suffering from the disease,” said KC.

“The trapping of mice will continue till Monday and the investigation will begin soon after,” said Public Health Officer of the district, Remash Lamichhane.

Lalan Prasad Sah, entomologist at the Department of Epidemiology and Disease Control, said they would test the liver, kidney, lungs, heart and blood of the mice.

As many as 189 persons have been found suffering from scrub typhus since mid-April to the first week of September in Chitwan. Of them, five patients underwent treatment at Bharatpur Hospital, seven at Narayani Hospital and remaining 177 were tested positive for the disease at Chitwan Medical College, said KC. Bharatpur Hospital has started conducting tests for the disease free of cost after Department of Epidemiology and Communicable Disease Control provided the health facility with as many as 200 testing kits.

Earlier, Chitwan Medical College had started testing the disease at the cost of Rs 2,500 per person. At least two persons have died of the disease in the district this fiscal.