DAILEKH: Even as the government has been claiming that the diarrhoeal outbreak in mid and far-western districts has been brought under control, the disease claimed two more lives in Dailekh district today.

Seven-year-old Laxmi Nepali of Nepa VDC-1 and five-month-old Dirgha BK of Ward No 7 of the VDC, were those died to the outbreak, District Police Office said.

With this, the death toll to the disease, which broke out in Jagannath VDC last month, has reached 22 in Dailekh. The epidemic has now spread to 28 VDCs.

Though high-ranking officials, including the health minister and a District Public Health Office team, visited the affected areas recently, the disease remains uncontrolled yet, locals lamented. Various NGOs, Bhawani Box Battalion of Nepali Army and the Unified CPN-Maoist are running health camps in various villages of the district. Some 15,000 persons are said to be suffering from the disease here.

Around 150 locals of a Dalit settlement of Toli VDC have been deprived of treatment, said al local Nawaraj Shahi.

Dr Gunaraj Awasthi, chief, Dailekh DPHO, said health workers and medicine had been sent to all health posts in the affected villages. District Education Office has decided to close all 473 schools beginning August 21, fearing similar outbreak again.