Rupandehi at high risk of dengue

  • Dengue is spreading rampantly in the districts of  Tarai and inner Madhes

Bhairahawa, April 15

It is reported that Rupandehi is at high risk of dengue.

According to District Public Health Office, Rupandehi, as many as 280 patients were found infected and two died of the disease in the past 10 months of this fiscal in the district. Two persons had died of the disease last year as well. This is the highest number in any district across the country.

“People living in the southern belt of the district are more prone to the disease than the people living in the northern belt,” said Shushil Gurung, Public Relation Officer at Universal College of Medical Sciences and Teaching Hospital, Paklihawa, Bhairahawa.

“A large number of dengue patients visit health facilities in summer while the number grows even more  during rainy season,” stated DPHO supervisor Om Prakash Gupta.

The data unveiled by the Department of Epidemiology and Disease Control showed that Rupandehi was worst hit by the disease while Mahottari and Jhapa were the second and the third worst hit districts in the country.

“A person is infected with the disease when a mosquito from Eddies species bites a person of any age. If a patient is infected with the disease second time, it will be very dangerous,” said Dr Rakesh Ashwani at the department.

He said that a person should save from mosquito bite to prevent the disease. “High fever, headache, eye ball ache, backbone ache, pain in bone and muscle, bleeding from nose and gum among other parts are the major symptoms of the disease,” said Dr Ashwani.

Dengue fever which was first detected in a foreigner in Chitwan in 2004 has been gradually infecting a large number of patients of late. It is spreading rampantly in the Tarai and inner Madhes districts every year. Chitwan, Rupandehi and Nawalparasi, among other districts, were hit hard by dengue epidemic in 2011/12.

“Sanitation is the most important means to mitigate dengue. Flower vase, tyres, water tanks, refrigerators and water logs are to be cleaned on a regular basis so that the mosquito can’t lay eggs,” said Supervisor Gupta. With the onset of summer, there has been a significant rise in the number of patients infected with the mosquito bite and water induced diseases at health posts and hospitals in Rupandehi.

With cases of mosquito bite growing, the number of patients suffering from malaria, Japanese encephalitis, dengue, elephantiasis and meningitis, among others, has increased in the district, as per the public health office. “Mosquitoes are not only bothering people at night but also during the day time. Hence, the authorities concerned should take necessary initiative on time,” said Siddhartha Civil Society chair Arun Pratap Rana.

Meanwhile, Bhairahawa dwellers complained the authorities concerned were not taking necessary initiatives to maintain sanitation. It was not doing anything significant to remove water logged potholes. It was not using chemical and pesticides to kill or damage the mosquito and destroy eggs either. However, DPHO stated it was conducting awareness-raising programmes besides killing mosquitoes and distributing mosquito nets.