Dengue patients continue to visit hospitals across Kathmandu

Around 100 patients suffering from dengue fever visit hospitals across Kathmandu on an average daily, authorities have said.

"It is an unexpected outbreak following the previous one. It is unusual and occurred post the monsoons and has inflicted people majorly in Kathmandu," Dr Sher Bahadur Pun, chief of the Clinical Research Unit at Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital told ANI on Thursday.

According to records provided by the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division of Nepal, six patients have died and 14,662 patients suffering from the mosquito-borne disease have been registered across the Himalayan nation between July to early November. Prior to this 3,424 people were infected three months before the latest epidemic took over.

Kathmandu and Chitwan have so far recorded 7,151 dengue cases followed by Gandaki province with 3,807 cases.

Dengue has spread across 12 districts in province no. 1 recording 1,246 infections; 268 people from 8 districts of province no. 2; 1,977 infections in province no. 5; 73 in Karnali province; and 140 in the far-west province of Nepal, the records stated.

"The threat has continued in Kathmandu. It was seen this year along with the larva at a huge amount in and around various places. Kathmandu would remain in the risk zone," Dr Pun said.

The local municipality, in the initial phase of the outbreak, used the smog-gun in a bid to control the spread of the disease but such attempts have now been terminated, the doctor said.

Dengue fever, the symptoms of which range from a severe headache and high fever to internal bleeding, is primarily dangerous due to the possibility of recurrence.

A patient who has the fever develops immunity to only one of the four variations of the virus that causes it. Recurrent illnesses usually proceed more severely than the first ones.

Dengue fever most often affects children, middle-aged people and the elderly. However, up to half of the deaths related to the illness occur among adults between the ages of 20 to 40.