Cases of dengue and scrub typhus increasing in Banke

By Siraj Khan

Nepalgunj, Aug. 9: The number of dengue and scrub typhus patients is increasing in Banke.

According to the Health Office Banke, 29 cases of dengue have been confirmed and 89 suspected cases of scrub typhus have been recorded in the last three months.

Naresh Shrestha, Information Officer at the Health Office Banke, informed that the number of dengue and scrub typhus patients is rising in Bheri Hospital Nepalgunj, Sanjeevani College of Medical Sciences, Kanti Arogya Hospital, and Nepalgunj Medical College Teaching Hospital Kohalpur.

He informed that patients from districts, including Banke, Bardiya, Dang, and Kailali are visiting these hospitals seeking treatment for dengue and scrub typhus infections.

According to Dr. Rajan Pandey, Chief Consultant Physician at Bheri Hospital Nepalgunj, the main symptoms of dengue include sudden fever, headache, pain behind eyes, muscle pain, and joint pain.

He mentioned that many children infected with dengue are visiting the hospital daily. Not only dengue, but children with scrub typhus infections are also coming to the hospital, he added. In the past three months, 29 cases of dengue have been confirmed in Banke. 

Out of 528 samples tested, 29 were found positive, according to Durga Gautam, focal person for Vector-Borne Diseases at the Health Office Banke.

He informed that 18 people from Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City and 11 from Kohalpur Municipality have tested positive for dengue. Among them, 19 patients were treated at Bheri Hospital, and three were treated at the Medical College in Kohalpur. 

Similarly, out of 729 samples tested for scrub typhus, 89 showed suspicious symptoms, Gautam added. 

As major hospitals in Nepalgunj and Kohalpur receive patients from other districts, many of the hospital beds are occupied by dengue and scrub typhus patients.

To prevent dengue, doctors have advised wearing clothes that fully cover the body, using mosquito nets while sleeping, and spraying mosquito repellents around the house.