DAMAULI, Sept 13: As many as 732 people have been confirmed infected with dengue in Tanahun district.

One has died and 732 people have been confirmed infected with the diseases in the district in the past three months, said the health office, Tanahun. Engineer Kamal Prasad Sharma, who worked for Byas Municipality, died of the infection, said Shankar Babu Adhikari, chief of the health office.

Informing that Damauli hospital has enough kits to test dengue, he urged all to adopt caution against the disease. According to Adhikari, over 100 people got infected with the disease last year. Escaping the bites of mosquitoes is the best option to be safe from dengue, he said.

"The virus spreads from the bites of mosquitoes infected with dengue virus. Infected mosquitoes bite humans especially during days. Dengue fever increases when the monsoon starts. Fever for three to five days is the main symptom of the disease. Fever can last from five to seven days," he said.

The symptoms of the disease include fever, severe headache, eyeball pain, body aches, loss of appetite, joint and muscle pain, stomach and intestinal disturbances, he said.

According to doctors, people should wear clothes that cover the whole body, sleep inside mosquito nets at day and night, and use ointment to prevent mosquito bites while working around the house and in the fields.

A monitoring has taken place in various hospitals and clinics in the Damauli bazaar acting on complaints that health institutions in the area charge high to test dengue, it has been said.

The monitoring led by a team of the district administration office, Tanahun district took place on Tuesday, said assistant chief district officer Kashiram Gaihe.

Following the complaints about overcharging for dengue test, a meeting under the chairpersonship of Chief District Officer Chhabi Lal Rijal urged health institutions to charge amounts not exceeding Rs 600 for a dengue test, he said. The charge limit was set in view of the average price of kits and the practice adopted by the neighboring district when it comes to charge fees for testing dengue, he said.

"It was decided upon to hold the lab operator responsible for charging fees for a dengue test. Similarly, the meeting decided to prevent the artificial shortage of kits and for the Dagauli hospital and the health office, Tanahun to regularly monitor to prevent overcharging for a dengue test," he said.

The meeting also decided for all concerned stakeholders to collaborate and cooperate in preventing and controlling dengue infection, according to him.

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