Covid and dengue cases are climbing nationwide

The Star

4 hours ago

KATHMANDU: With the onset of the monsoon season, health facilities across the country started reporting a surge in infectious diseases, including dengue and Covid.
According to the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division, 180 people from 25 districts have tested positive for Covid since January. At least 25 people tested positive for the deadly virus in the past one week alone. The number of people testing positive for the virus in the last 24 hours stands at eight.
Data provided by the division shows that all provinces except Karnali have reported Covid.
Of the 26 people who tested positive for the deadly virus in the past one week, 18 are from Bagmati province, five from Sudurpaschim, and three are from Koshi province.
'Not only Covid, but also cases of dengue, diarrheal infections and food poisoning, among others, are on the rise,' said Dr Chandra Bhal Jha, director at the division. 'We have stepped up surveillance measures, alerted health agencies and warned the public about growing risks.'
Nepal confirmed new coronavirus cases recently on June 4, when three people—two males and a female—who returned from India tested positive.
However, people had been getting infected with the virus since the start of the year, as the virus had already become endemic in Nepal.
Health officials say that rapid diagnostic testing is being carried out only on those having coronavirus-like symptoms—including fever, cough and sore throat.
Testing is not being carried out on asymptomatic people who might be infected. Some might have come during the incubation period, but no agency in the country tracks their movements. Health workers say they have asked the infected people to remain in isolation for five days and let them go home from the border entry points.
The Health Ministry officials also said they have started procedures to purchase rapid diagnostic test kits, which are in limited supply.
India has reported a steady decline in the number of active cases recently. According to media reports, India's active caseload dropped to 5,012 on Sunday (June 22), down from 5,976 on Friday.
Meanwhile, the division's data show that at least 1,541 people from 73 districts have tested positive for the dengue virus since January.
The deadly virus has not yet been reported in four out of 21 mountainous districts—Rasuwa of Bagmati province, Manang of Gandaki province, and Humla and Dolpa of Karnali province.
Bagmati has reported 371 cases of dengue infection, the highest number, followed by 299 cases in Koshi, 251 in Gandaki, 245 in Lumbini, 184 in Sudurpaschim, 32 in Karnali, and 21 cases in Madhesh province.
Dengue is a viral disease transmitted by female Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. According to the World Health Organisation, the same vector also transmits chikungunya, yellow fever and the Zika virus.
At least 15 people died, and 41,865 others were infected in 2024 as the virus spread to 76 districts. In 2023, 88 persons died and more than 54,000 were infected by the virus, which had spread to all 77 districts. At the time, hospitals in Kathmandu Valley were overwhelmed with dengue patients, and pharmacies had run out of paracetamol, the most widely used medicine to treat fever.
Experts say reported cases may represent only a small fraction of the true scale of infection, as around 90 per cent of the infected people are asymptomatic, and many deaths and infections often go unreported.
Many people infected with dengue show mild symptoms, which do not need any treatment or can be managed with paracetamol at home.
Since dengue became endemic in Nepal years ago, meaning people get infected throughout the year, health officials no longer classify it as an outbreak of a deadly virus.
Epidemiologists as well as virologists say that despite thousands of people getting infected and scores dying from the disease, authorities have failed to respond with proper measures. They believe that this lackadaisical approach is responsible for the spread.
Apart from coronavirus, dengue and diarrheal diseases, infection of the mpox virus has also been reported of late. Health officials say that the health condition of the Saudi Arabia returnee migrant worker who tested positive for the disease is stable.
'We have carried out testing on the people who came in close contact with the infected person, including his wife,' said Jha. 'But reports of others are negative.'
Monkeypox is a rare disease caused by infection with the monkeypox virus. Symptoms of mpox virus include fever, headache, swelling, body pains, exhaustion and itchy rashes on the face, hands and feet.
As the disease primarily spreads through close person-to-person contact, public health experts recommend self-isolation and good hygiene to avoid it. - The Kathmandu Post/ANN