GANDAKI, Sept 16: A total of 2,311 dengue cases have been reported across 10 districts of Gandaki Province since the Poush-Magh period, with infections rising sharply since July.
The Provincial Disease Control Center said no dengue cases have been reported in Manang so far this year.
Center Director Manmohan Mishra said the rate of dengue infection began increasing after July. While 415 cases were recorded in Jestha and Asar, the number rose to 1,247 in Shrawan. Since the beginning of Bhadra, 382 cases have been reported.
In the week from September 7 to 13 alone, 228 people tested positive for dengue, Mishra said.
Dengue kills three people in Gandaki in three weeks
Of the cases reported during the week, 170 were from Baglung, followed by 20 in Kaski, 16 in Parbat, seven in Myagdi, six in Gorkha, four in Syangja, three in Tanahun and two in Lamjung.
“Cases will gradually begin to decline now, but the risk remains. Therefore, efforts to identify and destroy breeding sites of dengue-carrying mosquitoes should be intensified,” Mishra said.
Baglung Municipality has been the worst-affected local level in the province. Of the 228 cases recorded last week, 57 were reported in the municipality. Pokhara Metropolitan City and other local levels have also reported relatively high numbers of infections.
Prabin Sharma, chief of the Provincial Public Health Office, Baglung, said a “search and destroy” campaign was being conducted to control dengue. He warned that failure to control and prevent the infection in time could lead to an outbreak.
The campaign has also been launched in Kaski and other districts to destroy mosquito breeding sites and disrupt the life cycle of the dengue vector.
Sharma said individuals and families must also take responsibility for dengue prevention. Female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which transmit dengue, breed in stagnant clean water, making it important to prevent water from accumulating around homes, offices and public places.
Health workers have advised people to empty stagnant water from pits, old tires, containers and drums, where dengue-carrying mosquitoes can breed. Avoiding mosquito bites remains the most effective way to prevent dengue infection, they said.
Doctors have advised people who develop persistent vomiting, nosebleeds, black stools or extreme fatigue after contracting dengue to seek treatment under close medical supervision.
Mishra said dengue infections generally increase from June to November. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes lay eggs in stagnant clean water and are active mainly during the daytime.
