Mahottari, April 15:

The number of Kala-azar patients has been rising here with the surge in the temperature. The wards and the verandah of hospitals are now full of them, causing problems for health workers in performing their duties.

Twenty-seven patients were admitted to Jaleshwor Hospital today, health workers said. Among them, 15 are Indian nationals. Indians visit hospitals in Nepal as they are required to buy medicines back in India, they added.

Other patients were from Gaushala, Matihani, Khayarbanni, Jamuniya and Sarlahi’s Bagewa.

The hospital is currently receiving three to five Kala-azar patients daily. The patients are mostly children, the district hospital in Jaleshwor said.

According to Dr Dwarika Prasad Shah, the only physician in the district hospital, children are prone to this disease as they have less immune power.

He urged the Ama Group and other volunteers to spread awareness on the disease among the people.

Shah said that out of the 25 beds in the hospital, 16 are being occupied by Kala-azar patients.

Kala-azar has been affecting locals in the district for the past 14 years, physicians said.

In Morang district, 10 persons have been diagnosed as suffering from Kala-azar in Sanischare VDC, according to a report released by students of the Koshi Health and Science Campus after a survey.

The report said that Sanischare VDC is the most affected and four persons have died of the disease in the VDC in the past one year.

The Morang district public health office said it has started spraying pesticides in 25 VDCs, including Sanischare, from today.