A total of 1,473 people from 30 districts have been infected with dengue virus in over past five months, almost 11 times more than the number last year, according to a report prepared by the  Epidemiology and Disease Control Division (EDCD) under the Department of Health Services. 

Last year, a total of 134 people from 31 districts were found to have been infected with the disease. The reported cases in 2014-15 were 785 and 302 in 2013-14. 

Chitwan district has topped the list with the number of dengue cases reported to be 675, according to the EDCD report. 

Likewise, Jhapa recorded 394 cases while Rupandehi recorded 148 cases. The disease has also been detected in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Makawanpur, Banke, Bardiya, Surkhet, Kailali, Morang, Dang, Sarlahi, Parsa, Nawalparasi, Dhading, Kapilvastu, Bara, Kanchanpur, Mahottari, Kavrepalanchok, Saptari, Kaski, Syangja, Baglung, Kalikot, Rukum, Sunsari, Pyuthan and Baitadi, the report said. Uttamraj Pyakurel, vector control inspector of the EDCD, attributed the rise in number of dengue cases this year to prolonged monsoon. 

He said one person died from the disease in Chitwan this year while two persons each died in Dang and Chitwan last year. 

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection causing a severe flu-like illness and, sometimes causing a potentially lethal complication. It is a mosquito-borne viral infection. 

It is transmitted to humans through bites of female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. 

The incidence of dengue has increased 30-fold over the last 50 years, according to the World Health Organisation.

Affected regions

- Chitwan district topped the list with the number of dengue cases reported to be 675

- In Jhapa, number of people infected with dengue stood at 394 

- In Rupandehi, 148 dengue cases were reported

Potentially lethal disease

-     Four distinct but related viruses cause dengue

-    Recovery from one gives lifelong immunity to that strain, but not to other three

-     Transmitted to humans through bites of female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes

-    Mosquito acquires virus from feeding on infected person’s blood, incubates virus for 8-10 days

-    Virus circulates blood of humans for two to seven days

-     Good evidence that further infection by different virus strains can lead to dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF)

-    2.5 percent of DHF cases are fatal. With intensive supportive therapy, rate can drop to 1 percent but if untreated, it is as high as 20 percent

Symptoms

-    Fever

-    Vomiting

-    Muscle pain

-    Disintegration of blood vessels leading to heavy bleeding

Key facts

-    Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection.

-    The infection causes flu-like illness, and occasionally develops into a potentially lethal complication called severe dengue

-    The global incidence of dengue has grown dramatically in recent decades. About half of the world’s population is now at risk

-    Dengue is found in tropical and sub-tropical climates worldwide

-    There is no specific treatment for dengue/ severe dengue, but early detection and access to proper medical care lowers fatality rates below 1%